


Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter - I Just Wanna Be With You

by Fox_155



Series: Four Seasons AU [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Eventual Smut, Family, Growing Up Together, M/M, No one really dies, Pack Dynamics, Soulmates, Werewolves, also mentions of human sacrifices, but there is a bit of drama, fighting and wounds inflicted from that, lots of play fights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:57:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 44,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23735836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fox_155/pseuds/Fox_155
Summary: An unknown scent reached his nose and Donghyuck slowed down before stopping, trying to figure out where it was coming from. It was another wolf! That was odd because they were inside their territory. But it smelt nice, interesting, and Donghyuck had to find the person this belonged to!At six, Donghyuck finds an injured stray in the woods, unknowing how tightly their fates are intertwined.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Series: Four Seasons AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763842
Comments: 669
Kudos: 1392





	1. Chapter 1 – The Seventh Spring

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any of the people and this story isn't by any means an accurate representation of the people by whom it is inspired by.
> 
> This is set in a wolf AU with A/B/O dynamics. So, there's mpreg, if you don't like that, please don't read it. 
> 
> I’ve been writing this on and off for months and months, then I finished it but wasn’t satisfied, and now I picked it back up to revamp and publish. That basically means no XiaoHenYang bc when I wrote the first chapters and set the AU up, they were only trainees and I had no idea about their personalities – sorry.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read this and encouraged me to post it. Special thanks to @RoseCallisa for the many edits and Rin for the addition to the plot ^^
> 
> Chapter titles indicate Donghyuck’s age in Korean age (born in Summer), when he refers to his age, it’s in Western measuring. I’m afraid this is very confusing but it just made sense and I couldn’t think of any other way to properly measure the time…
> 
> 94-97-line are parents - but I'll let you guess who is who, pls leave your guesses in the comments!! ^^

Donghyuck blinked his eyes open sleepily. He was cold, so cold he had woken up. He looked around, trying to orient himself, then he remembered he had dozed off in the viola clearing.

During his nap, the sun had moved and left him in the shade. He rolled over, back into her rays, hoping to warm up again. Impatiently, he waited for the uncomfortable feeling of freezing to leave and sleep to return, but the afternoon sun wasn’t strong enough yet to make it go away.

Donghyuck was very displeased with the whole situation. Where had Jaemin gone? When he had fallen asleep, his friend had been here with him, but he was gone now – like the sun.

He whined and got up on all four paws. With how low she was in the sky now, he figured he’d best just go home and find someone to warm him up there. Maybe complain to Jaemin for leaving him all alone. Surely, someone would be willing to cuddle.

Donghyuk happily bounced over the shy blossoms of the first flowers blooming in the underwood, walking the well-travelled route back to their camp.

The clearing was the furthest they were allowed to go. ‘They’ were him and his friends, the set of puppies born the same cycle of seasons and just old enough to explore on their own without their parents constantly having to worry about them getting lost forever, eaten, or attacked by hostile intruders.

It was a huge deal, of course. They had been allowed out since last summer and Donghyuck had been bragging to his little brother as much as possible because he was now _super_ old and allowed to do this while he was stuck with his parents.

During winter no one was eager to push for more, staying at home and inside where it was warmer. Maybe, Donghyuck thought, they’d be allowed a little further, now that outside became exciting again. Just up the river a little, down over the clearing, that sort of further.

He wasn’t excited to get off the trails yet. He knew some of his friends were, but Donghyuck wasn’t. His nose was fine, but he had trouble finding his way around, he easily got lost in too many scents.

Tracking was hard, okay?

The excitement to get home and to his pack, pushed Donghyuck to go as fast as his short legs would carry him. He didn’t like being alone, it was boring and lonely.

But then, an unknown scent reached his nose and Donghyuck slowed down before fully stopping, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

That was another wolf!

He was not super good at tracking, but this, he was sure of!

That was odd because he was inside their territory. No outsiders or, worse, attackers usually got here. His Appa and the others very carefully made sure the borders were secure. Due to that, Donghyuck had never smelt a foreign wolf before, but he could easily identify the scent.

There was more to this one, though. They smelt _really_ nice, interesting, and Donghyuck wanted to find the person it belonged to! It was almost like a pull – or maybe just curiosity.

He sniffed the flowers on the side of the trail curiously, pushing through the bigger grass and small bushes that grew behind them, to get where the scent was coming from.

It smelt not only like an unknown wolf, but a bit like ginger, too, which was even odder. Donghyuck wasn’t far from camp, and he knew where you could find spices and herbs. It was an easy task to collect them, he and his friends were sent to do it often.

But this wasn’t the place for any of that. Here, you could find berries when summer arrived. And you had to be careful because of the thorns the bushes had, trying to keep hungry invaders, like Donghyuck, away.

He definitely smelt ginger, getting stronger and mixing into the wolf scent like it was a wolf smelling of ginger…

He shifted, raising on two feet now instead of paws because he could avoid the branches easier like this. There had to be someone here because of the scent! And he wanted to find them!

If it was Yukhei, trying to pull another prank on him, Donghyuck was so going to tell their parents. He frowned when he remembered biting into delicious dried deer two nights ago, only to start coughing and gagging when he had realised it had been marinated in bitter spices.

The other had laughed and called him an idiot for not smelling it, and Donghyuck had spent the evening curled up against his Appa, pouting. He had been hungry. That’s why he hadn’t smelt it.

However, it clearly wasn’t his older brother trying to prank him this time. He spotted the form of a grey wolf, lying right in the field of strawberries, and stopped.

The older members of his pack were made up of run-aways, strays, and loners, who had all lost their original packs, many cycles of the season before Donghyuck had been born. It was a wonderful story his Appa often told them at the bonfire in the evening. They all became family, fell in love and stuck together against any attack. After a few years, the pack started to grow, puppies being born to the couples, like Donghyuck himself.

But no matter how different their origins were, their coats all were shades of brown. Donghyuck was as dark as his Dad, almost black on the top, a bit lighter on the tummy.

This was definitely not brown, it was a very distinct grey.

Donghyuck excitedly sneaked closer. He didn’t know there were wolves of this colour! All he knew were the snow wolves from the mountains who sometimes tried to challenge them for their territory. Of course, they always got chased away by his Appa and the other hunters, but that meant he had seen a snow wolf. Dead, sure, with the perfect white fur… well, apart from the blood.

But this was different. This wasn’t someone challenging them for territory, right? It didn’t look like it was, so he didn’t bother worrying. Donghyuck was close enough now to see that the other was still breathing, though irregularly.

And he was the source of ginger! Why? Donghyuck didn’t know any wolf that smelt of ginger – and he really liked ginger, especially this type of it!

“Hey?” he carefully asked.

He wasn’t a snow wolf, so he wouldn’t be dangerous, right? And he was small, about his own size, so he must be like him and his friends. Maybe he had gotten lost?

“Hey, do you hear me?” he repeated and the wolf lifted his head, blinking dark brown eyes open. He looked at Donghyuck and started whining, baring his throat.

It was enough submission to make Donghyuck close the last steps separating them.

“Who are you? Where are you from? What’s your name? Do you realise you’re ruining the strawberries? They’re my favourite!” Donghyuck burst out, not even breathing between the words falling from his lips.

The other kept whining, wiggling until he finally rolled over, revealing some nasty gashes in his side.

It looked similar to when Jungwoo had gotten hurt by a boar during one of his first hunting trips last autumn and Donghyuck gasped loudly. Only, this wasn’t fresh, like Jungwoo’s had been when he had been carried back to the camp. Instead, the blood was already clumping in some places, the fur dirty and sticking together.

“Oh no. This… how long has it been like this? Wait, no, you can’t answer. And you shouldn’t shift! Don’t shift, or it can get worse, Doyoung said so when Jungwoo was hurt. Just stay still. I’ll… I’ll get someone,” Donghyuck was about to dash off, but the wolf yipped, looking up at him with fear in his eyes.

Oh no, maybe they thought he was just going to leave? Or get someone mean?

“Don’t worry. They’re all really _super_ nice. My Dad only gets scary when I do things I’m not supposed to do. I mean, you didn’t ask to get hurt, right? How did you even end up here… Wait, your pack didn’t hunt in our grounds, right? Wait, do you have a pack? Because I thought you were on your own, but you must have a pack, right? Because we’re not giving away territory,” Donghyuck pushed his hands onto his hips because that always looked really scary when his dad did it, and stared the grey wolf down, who seemed even more distressed now.

Oh no, he hadn’t meant to scare him. Donghyuck internally scolded himself for his actions, he had just worried for a second and he should make sure. His appa was the pack leader, after all, Donghyuck had to be responsible and do the right thing to keep the pack safe.

Just, could someone who smelt so nice be evil?

“Sorry, I don’t understand you. Ah! I got it! Let’s do it like this, we always do that if someone is stuck in wolf form for some reason. I ask and if I’m right, you nod, if not, you shake your head. Neat, right?” Donghyuck beamed, very pleased with himself that he had thought of that. The grey wolf stopped whining and nodded once, obviously having understood.

“Did you come here because you wanna steal land?” Donghyuck asked, crossing his arms to look more intimidating again. The wolf immediately shook his head, whining more. Well, Donghyuck _was_ very scary. No one would steal away land on his watch!

“Oh. Okay, that’s good. Do you have a pack?”

Another shake of the head, a lot smaller this time, and the wolf closed his eyes, looking like he was so, so sad.

“Oh no,” Donghyuck crouched down next to him, carefully petting his head. That had to be terribly lonely. Had he come here to look for company?

“But in that case, I really have to get someone to help you because if you have a wound, you must wash it out so it doesn’t get infected, Doyoung said so. Infected wounds can kill you, you know?” Donghyuck calmly explained. The wolf wasn’t big and the fur didn’t hide the fact that they were skinny, the shapes of bones visible under the grey pelt.

But they shook their head again and Donghyuck hesitated. Well, he had to help him! He couldn’t be lonely and hurt out here!

“In that case, I’ll carry you!” he huffed, getting back on his feet.

Now, he was perfectly aware of his own size. He was only going to turn 7 this summer. He couldn’t drag a deer, he didn’t reach the top of the big tent in which they slept, he could only carry the small logs for the fire.

But this wolf wasn’t that big either and skinny on top of it. And he really needed help. He was probably lonely. Donghyuck knew how much it sucked to be alone.

He was not going to leave him here!

The grey wolf watched him warily as Donghyuck pushed his arms under them, trying to adjust while they were still on the floor. They felt even bonier than they looked, which spurred Donghyuck on to hurry.

He held his breath and with a small huff, he straightened back up, the wolf in his arms.

“You’re heavy.”

But Donghyuck was nothing if not stubborn. He had picked this person up and said he’d get them to their camp, so he was going to do it.

He had to take three small breaks to catch his breath and stop his arms from cramping up and giving out.

But he didn’t give up, especially since the wolf struggled to keep their eyes open. With how skinny they were, they had probably been starving for longer. The ginger smelt trustworthy and calming to Donghyuck. He just knew he had to get them home, make sure they were safe!

When he finally stepped out of the trees, the tents in sight, Donghyuck yipped in relief and excitement, carefully placing the grey wolf down. They whimpered again as Donghyuck pulled his arms away for good.

“Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you,” Donghyuck promised, patting the thigh where they weren’t hurt, before looking in the direction of the camp. He saw smoke from the fire, but he wasn’t sure who was there. Jaemin, probably, but he was even smaller than Donghyuck and not going to be of any help. He needed an adult. Well, if he just screamed for long enough someone would surely come.

“Appa!” Donghyuck hollered, “Dad! Appa! Dad!”

He kept shouting until a figure emerged from the outer line of tents, quickly making his way over to where Donghyuck was sitting with the grey wolf.

“Donghyuck! Are you hurt? Why are you screaming?”

“I found someone who’s hurt! And without a pack! I carried them here, all on my own. We have to help them!” Donghyuck explained loudly, not budging from the grey wolf’s side as the older sat down next to him.

“Hyuckie… you can’t just bring strangers to the camp,” He scolded, but his hands were hovering over the gashes, inspecting them.

“It’s fine, I questioned them before to make sure they’re not trying to steal territory. And look, they must be my age, right? And they’re all alone and probably hungry. Imagine how terribly lonely they must be,” Donghyuck choked up as he spoke it out loud. He couldn’t bear knowing someone was all alone and hurt – he was ready to beg if he had to, so they’d help the grey wolf!

“I… I understand that, but Hyuckie, they could have lied to you, or… well. They are rather small, arent they? And these wounds don’t look good. Where did you even find them? Did you stray off too far?” Taeyong looked up and fixed him with a hard glare.

“No! I didn’t! I swear I didn’t! I was just sleeping in the viola clearing with Nana and when I walked home, I smelt ginger. I looked where it was coming from and found them,” Donghyuck rattled down. He left out the part where Jaemin had left him behind to get cold and he was a tiny bit angry with him for doing so.

It wasn’t ideal to complain to Taeyong about Jaemin because, usually, Jaemin would twist the words until Donghyuck was the bad guy.

“I wonder how he sneaked past the hunters to get so far,” Taeyong whispered, but he pushed his arms under the wolf and picked him up, with much less strain than Donghyuck previously had, starting to walk to the camp with large steps, Donghyuck hot on his heels.

He wasn’t allowed in the medical tent, into which Taeyong brought the grey wolf, calling Doyoung to come. Since it had felt wrong to abandon them, Donghyuck had gone to get a pair of pants and a fluffy sweater before sitting down in front of it and waiting.

“What are you doing here?”

He looked up from the strings of grass he was braiding to pass the time.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“Jaemin! You left me alone!” Donghyuck jumped up and tackled the other wolf in a hug, bringing him down, but got overpowered almost immediately.

“No fair, I was cold!” Donghyuck whined, not bothering to fight back. Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun enjoyed play fights, but Donghyuck only did them when he had to for training.

“Sorry, Hyuckie, but you wouldn’t wake up! Jeno and Injun asked to come to bathe before it got too cold,” Jaemin smiled down on him and Donghyuck pouted.

“Still. But I found someone really interesting, instead. And you didn’t, Nah-Nah-Na,” Donghyuck poked out his tongue with a grin.

“Really?” Jeno asked and Jaemin let go, so he could sit back up.

Donghyuck grinned, enjoying their curious eyes on him for a dramatic moment before spilling “I found a grey wolf, who’s all alone and really hurt, in the berry field. I think they’re our age. Taeyong said so, too.”

“Grey?” Jeno asked, furrowing his brows.

“I never knew there were grey wolves. Are you sure?” Renjun flopped on the ground so close to Donghyuck he almost squashed his thigh, but the warmth was more than welcome.

“Yep. Doyoung’s taking care of them right now,” Donghyuck nodded so much, his hair whipped his face.

“Do you think we can look inside?” Jaemin asked, a mischievous smirk on his lips. He glanced at the tent.

“No! They said I couldn’t come!” Donghyuck crossed his arms, huffing, hoping to impress them. It fell short and Jaemin still snuck towards the forbidden territory.

Normally, Donghyuck would have been first in line to break a rule like this. But now, he didn’t want to risk anything. What if they didn’t allow the ginger wolf to stay because he tried to sneak a look?

Donghyuck _really_ wanted them to stay. Not be lonely in the wild out there. Maybe even…

“Jaemin, what do you think you’re doing?” A deep voice asked and Jaemin was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and pulled back.

“Nothing? I was just sitting here with the others,” Jaemin chirped with a beam up to the man holding him back.

“Hm, good. Because your father said it was urgent and potentially dangerous. We wouldn’t want you close to that, right?”

“No, of course not,” Jaemin nodded as if he hadn’t just tried to do exactly that. Donghyuck internally snorted, but he wasn’t going to rat his friend out. If it was Yukhei, sure, but not Jaemin, Jeno, or Renjun.

“Appa!” Donghyuck jumped up instead and hugged the leg of the taller man before he could move on into the tent. If his Appa was here, it meant he was going to decide what was going to happen with the grey wolf. His Appa was the leader of the pack and things like this were important, so he decided them.

“I found them! And they’re alone! Can I keep them? _Please_! They smell _really_ nice and they need to have friends! I want to be their friend!” Donghyuck pleaded, looking up in the way that usually got him what he wanted. At least with his Appa. It didn’t work so well with his Dad. But his Dad wasn’t the pack leader.

“They smell really good? I see. But they might be dangerous, you know? Your safety is my number one priority, always. Now, why don’t you boys go and help with dinner?”

“But Appa, I wanna know what happens to the grey wolf,” Donghyuck whined, hugging the leg he held onto tighter.

“Don’t worry, we’ll tell you. But we couldn’t have a guest and not have any dinner for them, right?” his Appa raised an eyebrow.

Donghyuck let go of him and turned to his friends, new determination in his eyes, “We have to go and make the bestest dinner ever. Right now! Come on, don’t slack off!”

Jaemin was complaining behind him, but Donghyuck ignored him in his march over to the fireplace with steps as large as a small person like him could muster.

It took soooo long.

Donghyuck wasn’t sure if chopping vegetables was more tiring and time-consuming today than normal, but it might be. Time, overall, was a very mysterious concept. Donghyuck wouldn’t downright eliminate the possibility it was passing slower now only to make him suffer.

He wanted to hear that the grey wolf could stay. He didn’t even know their name, but he knew he would cry if they had to go again and be all alone and not here.

The soup was almost finished and the meat was sizzling over the fire when Doyoung came to the cooking place, a small smile on his face. Renjun and Jaemin had disappeared some time earlier because they were lazy bums (okay, normally all four of them snuck away the moment they got the chance to. But today was different! Today was important), but Donghyuck and Jeno were still there, stirring and stirring and stirring.

“Can they stay?” Donghyuck threw the spoon into the soup, darting over. Kun sighed deeply behind him. The importance of cooking had suddenly dropped to almost non-existent in Donghyuck’s mind, so he didn’t even hear it.

“Sit down, Donghyuck. You, too, Jeno,” Donghyuck did as he was told, but fidgeted in his place, excited and nervous.

“The wolf Donghyuck found was very injured and the wounds weren’t treated like I always tell you it’s very important to do. To make matters worse, he also didn’t get a lot of food. His body is very weak at the moment. He cannot shift for now because his wounds will get worse, but we don’t think he’s dangerous.”

Donghyuck nodded. What he was hearing was that he could stay, right? Right?

“But we aren’t sure if he will recover from his injury. He’s coherent and alright now, but we cannot be sure if what we can do is enough.”

Donghyuck felt his lower lip starting to wobble and he bit it to stop that.

“But you did everything you can, right?” he whispered.

“Yes. Of course. And we will continue to do our very best. It will take a few days to see if he heals. If he does, it should be about half a moon until he can shift and we can talk to him and see if he’s a loner and he could join our pack.”

Donghyuck nodded, blinking back tears. He knew how the circle of life worked. Death wasn’t bad and it wasn’t the end. But he imagined one of his friends being in the grey wolf’s place, and he really didn’t want them to die. He also didn’t want the ginger wolf to die. He wanted to get to know him!

“Can I visit him?”

“You can if there’s an adult there,” Doyoung nodded.

“I wanna visit him, too. Can’t I?” Jeno asked, clinging onto Donghyuck.

“Of course, you can visit him as well, as long as there’s an adult there.”

Needless to say, the visit to the medical hut, normally quite boring and hardly worth getting to one’s feet for, immediately became extremely exciting and needed to happen as soon as possible!

Donghyuck puffed his chest when the others saw that there was a _grey_ wolf as they curiously peeked over the edge of the bed on which he was lying on his side.

“Wow! He’s really grey! Super grey!” Renjun whispered in awe.

“I thought you were just saying that to seem important,” Jaemin frowned and Donghyuck poked a finger into his waist.

“I wonder where he got hurt. Do you think he feels very bad?” Jeno muttered, eyes on the big bandages over the wolf’s tummy.

Donghyuck stared at them, too. He shrugged because he didn’t know either. Hopefully, he didn’t. Donghyuck didn’t want him to hurt! He didn’t even know his name, but he already considered him a friend.

Something about his scent just told him he wanted to be close.

And that didn’t stop. It was just as if he was being pulled towards the grey wolf, but he didn’t know why.

So, Donghyuck kept coming back to visit the medical tent. At first, the others tagged along, but at some point, they grew bored because all they could do was ask yes-or-no questions until they ran out.

But Donghyuck didn’t grow bored.

After four nights, Doyoung said he was sure the grey wolf would pull through and Donghyuck started bringing his embroidery or knitting work to sit in the medical tent and do it there to keep him company.

Renjun complained that he was abandoning his friends for someone he didn’t even know the name of, but Donghyuck assured them he still loved them the best. Because he did. But this stranger had to be lonely and he probably hurt.

It was only a small part of his day. There was still hunter training, sunbathing, cooking, and swimming they did together.

And then Donghyuck would report that to the grey wolf, so he wouldn’t feel as alone and bored anymore.

“So, Jaehyun asked: What animal’s paws are these? And I had no idea because they all look so similar, I mean, can you tell a bunny from a rabbit? It’s ridiculous. And aren’t they like the same, almost? You use the fur for the same things, you season the meat similarly, why do I need to know the difference of their paws?” Donghyuck sighed deeply, holding the shirt he was working on in front of himself to inspect.

The pattern came out well. It wasn’t much, not as pretty as the adults’, because that was still too difficult for his little fingers. One day, he’d be able to do them, too, if he kept practising.

He would drop hunter training for more sewing and needlework any day. Renjun and Jaemin would surely switch with him in the blink of an eye.

“And because I stole the last of the fish yesterday, which is Renjun’s favourite, he whispered that it was a bunny. But it wasn’t, it was a rabbit and Jaehyun did this super-disappointed face and explained the non-existent difference again. Anyway, if Renjun thinks he can get away with that, he’s wrong. Guess whose pillow I stuffed with bristle grass,” Donghyuck snickered.

“Where did you put bristle grass, Donghyuck?” a stern voice asked. Donghyuck jerked up from his embroidery and looked up at his Dad, who had his hands on his hips.

Most people looked the scariest with their arms folded and an angry expression.

His Dad looked the scariest when he had his hands on his hips and a very even expression, staring at you with his electric blue eyes intensely.

Donghyuck giggled, hiding behind the shirt, “Nowhere. Look, I invented my own pattern, isn’t it really pretty?” He held up the piece of clothing, but his Dad wasn’t as easily fooled as most others.

“If I find them in Yukhei’s clothing, you are going to clean every single one of them up plus will have to sweep the fire area for five nights.”

“I swear, they’re not in Yukhei’s clothing, Dad!” Donghyuck squeaked. He wasn’t lying.

“Good. And the pattern is very pretty. Good job, Hyuckie.”

Donghyuck beamed and showed the grey wolf the pattern, who carefully raised his head and looked.

It always went like this when he visited. And he grew impatient for answers, but Doyoung told him he had to wait, that healing took time.

It ended up taking almost a full moon cycle until their healer deemed the grey wolf well enough to shift. Donghyuck had asked his Appa if he could watch, but, allegedly, it was too risky and they didn’t want too many people in the tent.

Donghyuck decided to mope by the riverside with Jeno instead.

Jeno’s stone bounced twice before it sank. Donghyuck’s only bounced once.

“My stone was bigger than yours. Of course, it didn’t bounce as well. Normally, I can do… five times.” Donghyuck whined, looking for a better stone.

“No, you can’t, only Jungwoo can,” Jeno frowned.

“Whatever, this is dumb. I wanna know if Appa is letting the ginger wolf stay,” Donghyuck stomped his foot against the stone they were sitting on.

“You can’t keep calling him the ginger wolf. I don’t even get what you’re talking about. He just smells plain like everyone,” Jeno complained, throwing another stone, making it bounce three times. This sucked!

“No, he smells like ginger,” Donghyuck wrinkled his nose. There was no good stone, Jeno was taking all of them, unfairly giving himself the advantage to cheat!

“My Appa said we’re too young to smell something on others yet when I asked him. You only start smelling of something and become able to smell others after you present,” Jeno said matter of factly “And my Appa is very smart. So, he knows.”

“He still smells like ginger,” Donghyuck muttered because he knew what he smelt.

“Guys! Come quickly! Johnny said the grey wolf was joining us!” Jaemin had shifted mid-jump, where he had come out of the bushes.

Donghyuck was on his feet, running back to camp in a second, the other two trying to catch up behind him.

It was true!

A small boy, one Donghyuck had never seen before, was standing with his Appa.

He almost ran them over, smashing into the muscled thigh of the pack-leader because he failed to stop early enough. Luckily, for someone as small as Donghyuck, his Appa was impossible to run over. He was impossible to run over for most people, so it was only Donghyuck falling down from the force. He didn’t even notice his bum getting squashed, too excited to see the strange boy.

Woah!

“Careful there, Hyuckie,” His Appa leaned down to help him up, but Donghyuck kept staring at the boy half-hidden behind the pack leader now.

He had grey hair and his face was a bit sunken in, with big, round eyes and curved up eyebrows.

And he still smelt of ginger.

“Hi! I’m Donghyuck! Nice to meet you!” Donghyuck chirped before he had even gotten back on his feet, immediately leaning forward to greet the other.

“H-hi. I’m Mark.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you like it? ^^  
Let me guess who you think is related to whom ~
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)  
Twitter: @155Fox


	2. Chapter 2 – The Eleventh Spring, Twelfth Summer and Autumn

Donghyuck rolled around the furs, trying to find body heat to snuggle against. Spring was still cold at night. Donghyuck was a summer child, not to mention he loved and craved touch. He smelt ginger and grabbed Mark in a koala grip, humming contently.

“Donghyuck, I said get up,” Someone said next to his ear. Unbelievable! He was trying to sleep here, didn’t they see that?

“No. It’s cold and dark,” Donghyuck clung onto Mark.

“The prey isn’t going to wait until you’ve had enough sleep. You can nap later,” He got pulled off the furs rudely as if he was some toy. How did he deserve this? He groaned when he remembered that it was his turn to join the hunters today.

He would be 11 this summer, meaning, he was now old and big enough to help. Much to his own demise. He’d much rather stay in bed. Running was exhausting. He never spotted anything first, like Renjun always boasted he did, and he couldn’t lead the group in tracking when the older wolves wanted him to, like Mark and Jaemin.

“I don’t wanna,” Donghyuck whined as he got pulled from where he and his friends were bundled up. All the young wolves slept in this tent until they presented, one adult staying with them to keep watch. It was warm, it was soft, it was wonderful, and he wanted to stay!

“Believe me, you’re not the only one unwilling. But what can we do? We can’t have a completely untrained wolf, even less the son of the leader, don’t you think?”

“But Yuta…” Donghyuck tried, but they were already outside in the cold, so he might as well accept his cruel fate.

To no one’s surprise, Donghyuck was no help whatsoever. He had never really been during all the times he had been assigned to help hunting and he honestly wished the adults would stop trying or at least give him an award for the worst trainee. He was a great tailor and did well cooking, he could tell plants apart and found the best-hidden edibles. Why did he have to train in hunting?

“It’s because you’re getting lazy,” Renjun grinned and pinched Donghyuck’s tummy. He kicked the other but missed. 

“It’s just baby fat,” Mark soothed.

“I’m gearing up for a growth spurt,” Donghyuck huffed. Uncontrolled laughter followed.

Well, probably not. For two cycles of the season now, Donghyuck had been lagging behind the others in height. Even Mark, who used to be the tiniest but once he had put on a bit more weight and gotten healthier, started to catch up.

It also meant they bested him in fights even easier. Not that he cared. Donghyuck much preferred snuggling over fighting, leaving that to the other four.

“That was hilarious. So, are we going to pull through with rubbing Yukhei’s pillow in the lye of the furs?” Renjun asked, eyes twinkling.

“Absolutely!” Donghyuck perked up, happy to be off the hook, always up to make his brother’s life harder, “But I cannot do anything but watch because Dad will scent me once my dumb brother complaints and he will know, no matter how well I scrub. He threatened I would have to make baskets for a whole moon cycle if I played another prank on him. You know I hate braiding branches, it hurts my hands and I can’t stitch well afterwards,” he announced.

“Do you think your Dad would scent me, too?” Jeno asked, worriedly. “He can be scary. I don’t wanna end up with laundry duty or something.”

Yeah, Donghyuck had no way to guarantee that wouldn’t happen, seeing how it had before. Several times even. Especially when they had been younger and not yet cleaned up their tracks well.

“I will do it!” Jaemin grinned, “I won’t get into trouble.”

Donghyuck and Jeno snorted in unison.

“Of course not, you spoilt brat.”

“I’m just nice to my dads,” Jaemin chirped, already getting up. Nice, as if. His dads were just, for reasons far past Donghyuck’s understanding, whipped for their sons and let them get away with almost everything unlike every other dad of the pack. Especially his own had a nice repertoire of punishments…

“Hey, it was my idea! I’m doing it, too!” Renjun hurried to follow him.

Donghyuck sighed and snuggled against Mark. He never engaged in trouble. Donghyuck knew he was still scared that he’d get thrown out. He didn’t know why he had been abandoned by his old pack because he wouldn’t tell him, but that was probably why he worried. Donghyuck understood that.

At least he spoke freely with them and laughed now. When he had first come, he had never laughed, always looking scared, trying to blend into the background to not make a mistake. It had gotten better.

Donghyuck had made sure to never let Mark out of anything, involving and dragging him into everything they did. Save for the trouble-making, Mark never had to do that, he could just watch in worry.

Of course, he would have done that for everyone. It was a matter of course. He had wanted to maybe do it even more with Mark, though, than he would have with any wolf who’d smell of nothing, which was everyone but Mark.

Where he was, Mark needed to be. Donghyuck didn’t know why, not for certain, but he knew that was how it was. It was something about his ginger scent…

“I hate hunting,” he whined.

“I hate embroidery,” Jeno groaned, slumping on top of him, building a pile.

There was a beat of silence until Mark chipped in, “I hate cooking.”

“Oh sun, yes, and you’re so terrible at it,” Donghyuck barked out in laughter, “Let’s hope you don’t end up an Omega and have to cook for courting. No one would ever get mated to you!” He wheezed as Jeno burst into hysterical laughing alongside him.

What would Mark do to impress an Alpha? Give them a steak, black outside, red inside? Or maybe carrots chopped into pieces the size of a finger and unseasoned?

Mark mumbled something under his breath, but Donghyuck didn’t catch him. It had probably been an excuse. Donghyuck would have given an excuse in his place, of course.

He didn’t think much of it until the night when they were on their furs, curled against each other.

“You wouldn’t get mated to me because my cooking is bad?” Mark whispered as Donghyuck was just about to slip into dreamland. The lethargy and peace of his mind were immediately interrupted and Donghyuck was wide-awake.

“What? I didn’t say that!” He hissed back, trying to stay quiet. His Dad was sleeping with them. It was mostly him or Kun these days because the youngest puppies were theirs. He _really_ didn’t want his Dad to hear him talking about getting m-mated. That would be _super_ embarrassing.

“But you said if I ended up being an Omega, no one would mate me because my cooking is bad,” Mark insisted.

“Oh, Markie, that was just a joke. I’m sorry. I mean, I wouldn’t want to get mated to anyone, anyways, because, ew, gross, I don’t want to kiss anyone, but imagine if I ended up an Alpha and had to hunt? Who would mate me? It’s just a joke, the hunting and the cooking are just traditions, it’s not that deep.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, sorry if I hurt you.”

“It’s okay. I misunderstood.”

Donghyuck nodded and snuggled closer, starting to drift off again. He knew Mark said something, but he was already too sleepy to catch it.

Jungwoo presented before summer started. He was about 14 cycles old, so everyone had been expecting it, just how everyone was expecting Yukhei, born a moon later than Jungwoo, to present.

Donghyuck missed most, or actually all, of it because it had happened in the middle of the night. Kun, who had a light sleep, had noticed immediately, pulling the boy outside and away from everyone else.

He only found out during breakfast, where Jungwoo was missing, and the adults told them that Jungwoo had gone into heat at night, presenting as Omega.

He hadn’t thought that much about presentations before this. If he was going to be an Alpha or Omega, yes, but never about the process of finding out. Jungwoo and Yukhei were the oldest puppies in the pack, so he had never witnessed one. For him and the others, it was still much too early to have to worry.

But now, questions started wandering through his head.

“Dad, what happens during a heat? Does that hurt?” Donghyuck asked over dishes. His Dad was an Omega, Omegas got heats, he knew that already. So, he had to know.

“Are you worried because of Jungwoo?” his Dad asked, passing him a plate. Donghyuck hummed in confirmation.

“No, they don’t hurt during the presentation. They’re a bit uncomfortable. You feel warm and restless. During heat is the time when an Omega can get pregnant, once they’re old enough. That’s when they start becoming a little more uncomfortable. Jungwoo’s still much too young. He’ll just feel a bit sick for a few days, nothing more. It’s the same for young Alphas. So, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to be scared.”

Donghyuck nodded. That didn’t sound too bad. He usually got one cold per winter and he always got to stay inside, bundled up and doted upon. He could manage with that.

“So, how would one get pregnant then? I mean, I know that’s only when you’re mated, and I totally don’t want to get mated, because kissing is disgusting, obviously, but just in theory?”

His Dad had this smile on that Donghyuck never understood. What was he missing here?

“Well, you preferably wait until mated, but it’s not necessary to be mated in order to have…” a hand was wrapped around his mouth and his words came out muffled.

“Ten! You cannot corrupt my little baby, he’s still much too young for things like that,” his Appa’s voice was panicked. He let go with a small yelp when his Dad bit his finger.

“Are you being serious? The kid is ten, he’s not a baby, we have to normalise sexuality for him, as it should be. You literally had this talk with Mark last year on your _own_ accord…”

“No, he’s still too little, look at him.” Donghyuck found himself squeezed into a tight hug that almost suffocated him. Compared to his Appa, he definitely was small, tiny even, but everyone seemed small compared to him.

“Just because he’s a bit on the short side doesn’t mean he’s mentally smaller, are you insulting short people?”

Donghyuck slipped from his Appa’s arms and sneaked away while his parents got into one of their infamous arguments, still unsure what it was that he had just not gotten educated on.

Probably nothing important anyway.

Donghyuck had to admit, he was a tiny bit jealous of the ice blue eyes Jungwoo sported after his presentation. They were very similar to Taeyong’s, which wasn’t too surprising seeing how he was his father, and Donghyuck suddenly found his own brown eyes terribly boring.

The best part was, that Jaemin for once got a little less attention from his parents, especially his Omega Dad, who was focussed on his older son.

Being the attention seeker he was, he clung onto his friends to get what he got starved off.

Donghyuck just rolled his eyes and enjoyed the snuggles and hugs.

His hunting didn’t improve over summer. Donghyuck would have said he had told them so, but he knew some of the older wolves suspected he wasn’t trying.

Which was true.

He hated everything about this from the bottom of his heart – from getting up before sunrise, over tracking and running, to biting down on fur. It was gross in his mouth, fuzzy and warm, and he never managed to drag anything further than ten steps because he felt like he was going to collapse. Unless it was a bunny. Bunnies fit into his mouth okay-ish, but they were still fuzzy and warm.

By the time the leaves turned colourful and fell, and Donghyuck had finally thrown up from carrying a bunny and biting down on it too low, triggering his gag-reflex with the fur, he convinced the hunting squad that he had no talent, zero interest in ever joining, and would much rather do the complete laundry of the whole pack than go on another trip.

And he finally got taken off the duty.

Unfortunately, that didn’t count for fighting lessons. Because any wolf had to hold their ground in both shapes at any time – so his Appa said and his Appa was their leader, so, what he decided was done.

His complete lack of aggression and competitiveness in the field made him the ideal loser for any match.

Every one of his losses was an ego booster for the others who had more pride in their fighting abilities. Meanwhile, Donghyuck didn’t mind. He was never embarrassed, disappointed, or angry when he lost.

The only one just as unmotivated as him was Jungwoo. Since presenting, he was lack-lustre at best, completely passive at worst, saying his instincts just told him to submit.

Saying that in hopes of getting exempted, just how Donghyuck would have probably done, had been the wrong thing to do, though. Very wrong. Once he had voiced his concerns, Sicheng had started running a tighter ship on him, as in, merciless.

Donghyuck felt very sorry for Jungwoo. He was affectionate like Jaemin, but calmer and softer in his nature and not as obnoxious just because he would get away with it.

Sicheng was an Omega, too, but a hunter and a fighter nevertheless. He was the one who always pushed Jungwoo until he beat his instincts to fight, reminding them that it was dumb to both be an obvious target (as an opponent would always assume an Omega was easier to beat) and then unable to fight back, in case they ever were attacked even if they didn’t want to join the hunting squad.

That all was good and well and made perfect sense, however, Donghyuck still hated everything about fighting and did as little as he could without getting scolded for slacking off.

He still got out of it because he was young. Only when he let Chenle win, did whoever led training call him out and made them repeat the fight, correcting his form and nagging. Because Chenle was really tiny and his punches didn’t even hurt a fly.

Donghyuck would have felt bad for beating kids five cycles younger than them, if they hadn’t been training with Yukhei and Jungwoo ever since he could remember, too. It prepared you for life to not always have fair fights.

Not to mention, his little brother was even more annoying than his older and needed to be put in his place. That’s why he always put everything into it when it was Jisung he got paired up with.

Donghyuck’s back hit the ground and he lazily kicked up, trying to knee Jaemin’s crotch, but missed when the other anticipated it. Well, it was kind of obvious, wasn’t it? Jaemin pinned his wrists next to his face, grinning.

“One, two…” Sicheng counted down. The rule was you had to keep your opponent down until he got to ten. Donghyuck pretended to struggle, so he wouldn’t get scolded for being lazy, but suddenly Jaemin was ripped backwards, a fierce growl echoing from the trees around them. Donghyuck blinked up in confusion as Yukhei held his friend up, snarling at him.

“Hands off my baby brother, or I will…”

He didn’t get further. Sicheng delivered a hard chop on his neck from behind and Yukhei went down like a rag doll.

Jaemin held his neck, mostly surprised rather than hurt, coughing, and Donghyuck got up from the leaves.

“Well, guess training is over for today. Are you okay, Jaeminnie?” Sicheng asked, grabbing the unconscious Yukhei, who was almost his height, by his arms. He pulled the lanky boy off the ground, his head lolling forwards. That had been quick…

“Yeah,” Jaemin wheezed and Sicheng raised an eyebrow but didn’t check. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but Sicheng thought a few buffs and bruises didn’t hurt anybody. Which… they didn’t but you could still whine about them, right? Instead, he threw Yukhei’s limp body over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. Donghyuck was going to re-evaluate his level of respect for the older Omega – another time. More pressing matters were at hand right now.

“The question is, is he okay? Or did his brain finally fry?” he asked, but there wasn’t the same fire behind it he usually had. He was a bit shocked, too, especially since Yukhei seemed to have jumped in to protect him!

“He will be. What you just saw was an Alpha presenting. So, I’ll get him away from here and find Johnny,” Sicheng smiled. “Enjoy the evening. And remember to help Yuta with cooking duty.”

Donghyuck looked after them for a moment. At least there was a good reason for what had just happened. That was a relief.

It wasn’t really that surprising, that Yukhei was an Alpha. He was tall and his shoulders had broadened a lot recently, as well as muscle mass finally starting to stick to his previously skinny frame, though he was still lean rather than buff.

Not to mention how he was always ready to fight. But he normally didn’t interrupt other people during their duels. That had been a surprise.

Jungwoo checked his little brother’s neck, making sure it was fine.

“It almost doesn’t look red anymore,” Jungwoo mumbled.

“It’s fine. It was just a little… squeezing,” Jaemin puffed his chicken chest.

“It looked super lame,” Jisung announced, his smaller friend giggling next to him.

“Yah! You brat, you can’t even get a proper hit in with Hyuck!” Jaemin jumped up and away from his own brother. A moment later, he and Jisung rolled over the ground and Jisung found himself pinned down and forced to bare his neck in seconds. Jungwoo shook his head.

“If you’re fine, I’ll go scrub my rabbit skin.”

The older left them to it. Donghyuck settled in a small circle with his friends, and Jisung and Chenle bounced off to play in the woods.

“So, if Yukhei is an Alpha and Jungwoo is an Omega… will they court and get mated?” Jeno wondered out loud.

“Doesn’t that seem weird?” Jaemin mumbled, scratching his neck.

“Super weird. It’s like I got mated to one of you!” Donghyuck frowned. The idea of kissing Jeno was just… no. Jeno frowned just as much, so they were on the same page.

There were many stories of wolves falling in love that the adults told them over the campfire. They were all quite nice and love seemed important to them. But love also involved kissing and kissing was totally gross. Donghyuck had watched his fathers do it many times, and he really didn’t want to do it with anyone. The kisses his Appa liked to litter on his cheeks were enough to know kissing on lips would be super slobbery and wet. So Donghyuck was quite sure love wasn’t for him.

“If Chichi’s on cooking duty, I better get going,” Renjun sighed and looked in the direction of the camp. “Are you coming?”

Yukhei formally apologised to Jaemin three days later, his eyes a dark shade of red now.

Donghyuck had known him all his life – unfortunately – and those would definitely take a bit of getting used to. He looked different. So… mature? He was going to gag.

Even harder to get used to would be how weirdly unimpressed by all the teasing Yukhei now was. Instead of taking him in choke-hold or getting back at him sneakily, he now asked if Donghyuck had eaten enough.

He loved getting babied, but not by Yukhei? This was just wrong.

Despite sudden weird protectiveness towards the puppies, which Donghyuck, unfortunately, was very much one of, Yukhei still got his ass handed to him by Jungwoo the next time they had training. The whole fight served as great entertainment for everyone and Jaemin and Donghyuck in particular.

Jungwoo yelled something along the lines of personal revenge. Doyoung was very impressed with the sudden change of heart the young Omega displayed, even letting Donghyuck get away with not even trying to punch Mark.

It was a good day until at night, Donghyuck was once again interrupted from peacefully going to sleep.

“Donghyuck?” Mark’s voice was soft, directly in his ear. Donghyuck blinked one eye open to indicate he was listening. Kun had a very light sleep, so he might wake up if Mark spoke too loudly and they both knew it.

“Why don’t you want to get mated to any of us?” Mark sounded a bit hurt and Donghyuck wasn’t sure why. It had been days since that talk. Did Mark want to get mated to one of them? Maybe Renjun? They got along very well. A weird feeling of possessiveness tugged in his gut at the idea. Donghyuck didn’t understand why.

He didn’t want to get mated to Mark!

“Love is weird. You kiss and that’s gross, I don’t want that.”

“Why?”

“Because… ew. Pressing your mouths together and stuff. It’s probably really wet. I don’t want anyone’s spit on me, much less in my mouth, that’s gross!”

“Oh. I didn’t know it was. But mates are, like, super close and take care of each other all the time.”

“Hm. Yeah, I guess.”

“I want to be with you all the time.”

“Yeah, me, too. With you and with Jeno, and Renjun, and Jaemin. That’s why we’re friends.”

“Ah. Is that so?” Mark sounded weirdly dejected, “Well, I guess. Kissing is… weird. Did you ever try it?”

“No, ew. Why would I want that?”

“Right,” Mark chuckled awkwardly and Donghyuck shook his head over his friend’s odd ideas. “But mates have puppies together, Johnny explained that to me.”

“Hm. I don’t care about puppies if they’re as annoying as Jisung.”

“But yours surely would be really cute.”

“I guess.”

Mark stopped asking questions after that. Donghyuck snuggled tighter against him to smell the comforting ginger scent the other always had on him year-round before letting his eyes fall shut again, sleep soon bringing him to dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved reading the guesses regarding who is related to whom!! Pls keep it coming haha
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	3. Chapter 3 – The Thirteenth Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick disclaimer, I know Mark’s born in summer, but here, he isn’t for plot purposes lol~

“I hate winter,” Donghyuck whined, tugging his furs tighter around his shoulders. He would be warmer if he shifted, but then he couldn’t talk anymore. And he really wanted everyone to know how cold he was.

“Do you? Thank you for reminding me, I didn’t get it the first twenty times,” Jeno frowned. Yeah, this was more fun if there were more people to hear and pity him, Donghyuck agreed, but there weren’t, so, his friends would have to do.

“I hate stitching and do you see me complaining?” Renjun groaned, stabbing himself in the finger.

“Actually, yes,” Donghyuck deadpanned, scooting closer to Mark. At least someone had volunteered to be his personal heater. “Mark, are you okay?” he gently asked the other, who hadn’t moved his needle in some time, staring at Donghyuck’s… neck?

“Hm,” Mark hummed, leaning closer and resting his chin on his shoulder. Donghyuck frowned.

“I don’t think he’s fine,” Jeno stated and Donghyuck had to agree. Mark usually tolerated him hugging, nudging, and draping himself over him, but he didn’t initiate skinship. Ever. Donghyuck felt oddly flattered at the thought that Mark wanted to plant his chin on his shoulder…

But he was seriously burning up.

“I think he caught a fever. Maybe we should get someone?” Donghyuck said after putting a hand on his forehead, that was just as warm as the jaw and neck pressing against him.

“I’ll get Doyoung if you stitch my flower,” Renjun smirked, smartly pulling up a deal. Donghyuck shrugged, not minding the simple work and not wanting to move, so his friend darted off.

“Hey, Markie, do you hurt anywhere? Feel sick?” Donghyuck gently asked, calmly threading his fingers through Mark’s grey hair. The other nuzzled into him closer, nose pressing where his neck and shoulder met, and Donghyuck couldn’t hold back a full-body shudder.

“That tickles,” He gasped and Mark stopped.

“He’s really weird,” Jaemin mouthed and Donghyuck just looked down at him, thinking the same thing.

Why was he so obsessed with his neck? He knew that where Mark was still lying was where his scent glands were, but they were still non-functional. Nevertheless, it seemed to calm Mark, who was dozing off. Now that he wasn’t tickling him anymore, it hardly bothered him, so, Donghyuck didn’t do anything about it. He went back to his cloth and continued working on the elaborate flower he had been busy stitching before.

He was almost finished when the flap of the tent was opened, a flush of cold air coming inside making him squeak.

It wasn’t Doyoung who entered, but Taeil with a serious expression, Renjun tailing behind.

“Injunie said you think Mark has a fever?” he kneeled next to Donghyuck, looking the boy over carefully, whose eyes opened sluggishly.

Donghyuck was about to answer when a wall of ginger scent hit him, cutting off the words in his throat.

Wow, that was intense!

Not in a bad way. It still held the comfort that his scent always, without fail, brought, but it was… a lot. It made him feel all fuzzy and light-headed, weirdly tingly all over.

Jeno had started talking already while Donghyuck tried to keep it together despite Mark suddenly smelling downright heavenly, “He got really sleepy and then started lying on Hyuckie, who said he felt warm. So maybe it’s a bug?”

Donghyuck nodded before looking at Mark again. The other was staring back at him and he suddenly realised: his eyes were red.

Not a deep dark red, like his Appa’s and Yukhei’s, but an intense, bright red, like only Yuta had.

It both fit his face and didn’t fit Donghyuck’s perception of Mark. It looked fierce, but Mark was always patient with him.

It was weird, different, made Donghyuck realise that Mark was growing up and doing so a lot quicker than he was and that felt wrong. He didn’t want there to be any distance between him and Mark.

He held the gaze for a moment before starting to feel weird about it and looking for help with Taeil. His heart was beating just a bit quicker in his chest now.

The older Alpha had stood back up with a worried expression, his eyes on Mark.

“He’s presenting, right?” Donghyuck whispered, nervousness tinging his voice. Why was he already presenting? Donghyuck still had so long before he would, he didn’t want Mark to leave him behind!

“Yes, he is. I’ll get someone else, just… stay exactly like that, don’t move, I’ll be right back. Don’t worry,” He smiled and slipped out of the tent.

Donghyuck wasn’t worried per se. It was Mark, after all. His Dad had said the presentation wasn’t scary. It was just kinda… weird.

So, he finished his flower and bit the string, putting away his needle and the leftover thread.

Jaemin had stopped his work and was cautiously eyeing Mark, who had nudged into Donghyuck some more before starting to fall back asleep, “It’s kinda different from Yukhei, isn’t it?” he softly asked.

“Maybe because we aren’t fighting?” Jeno contemplated, “My Appa said your instincts suddenly get extremely strong, like, sometimes you will feel like you should protect someone, right? So that’s strong in Alphas generally and that’ll suddenly slam in, so that’s why Yukhei flipped. No one’s at risk now.”

“Maybe it’s also because Mark has more than three brain cells,” Donghyuck chirped, a mischievous grin on his face. He could already see some good in this situation – making fun of his brother. He’d never miss a chance for that!

The other three hummed and nodded.

“Remember when he tried to impress Jungwoo, a few nights ago, by throwing a snowball right into his face?” Jaemin chuckled, “He said he wanted to show him how accurate his aim was. Woo was so confused.”

Donghyuck tried to hold his laughter so as to not disturb Mark on his shoulder, but it had been _hilarious_, even the adults had laughed. Mating still seemed irrelevant to him, but if he watched his brother and Jungwoo, he sure wanted it to stay that way and spare himself the humiliation – on both sides.

He was about to re-tell some more of his brother’s dumb actions when Taeil returned, followed by his Appa. They crouched down, not too close to the five of them.

“Mark?” Taeil asked, but there was no reaction. Donghyuck looked down and found Mark staring up at him again, so he should have heard them.

The red was so bright, Donghyuck thought. It should look quite intimidating in his wolf, but he wasn’t scared. The ginger scent was nice and calming around him. He had no reason to be scared of Mark. He looked away to see the adults were getting closer slowly.

“Hey, Mark, can you hear us?” his Appa asked, but Mark didn’t react.

“Is he okay?” Donghyuck worried, glancing at the newly presented again.

“He is. It’s not that uncommon to get stuck in your own head. He’s not doing bad, staying calm like that. But we can’t leave him here because you can’t sit still for three days and he probably won’t be happy if you move,” His Appa explained.

He definitely couldn’t sit still for three days. It was already starting to become difficult!

“He’s probably going to get angry when we grab him, but since he won’t listen we don’t have much of a choice. Just as a warning to you,” Taeil added and Donghyuck slowly nodded.

Then, everything happened too fast to follow. His Appa and Taeil lunged at the young Alpha, pulling him away from Donghyuck, and Mark started struggling against them the moment he got separated, growling viciously, snapping his teeth at the adults, who easily held him down before dragging him out.

Donghyuck watched, worry gnawing in his gut. He knew Mark would be fine, it was just instincts, but still. Alpha presentation seemed rather… violent and unpleasant.

“At least he won’t have to worry over cooking now. He kept bringing that up,” Renjun mumbled. Taeil raised an eyebrow.

“Are you okay, Donghyuck?” the older wolf handed Donghyuck the blankets that had fallen off Mark and he gratefully took them, building a bigger cocoon. Renjun only snuggled when it was Jeno who was asking or they were sleeping. And Jeno was hogged by Jaemin. So as it was, Donghyuck would have to warm himself for now.

“Yeah. Will Mark be?”

“Of course. It’ll take him a bit to get a hold of himself and he’ll be as good as new. Don’t worry. It looks far worse than it is. Now, why was Mark worried about cooking?” Taeil directed the question at Renjun, who started giggling hysterically.

Jeno finally stepped in, as Renjun was turning a darker and darker shade of red, mumbling “Because of courting?”

“Oh,” Taeil smiled and looked at Donghyuck, who didn’t notice because he had picked up Renjun’s sad excuse of a flower to correct and finish, “I see.”

They waited until the Alpha had left, as to not get into other embarrassing situations in front of him. Parents were embarrassing in general, but your own in particular, and they didn’t want to make Renjun suffer even more.

“Your flower sucks, Injunie. It hardly even looks like one. It’s a disgrace,” Donghyuck announced the moment he felt safe.

“Whatever, that’s why you’re doing it.”

“You didn’t even get Doyoung, technically our deal is off,” Donghyuck complained while pulling out threads that were beyond saving. Which was all of them. He was going to do this over and do it right, this time.

“I couldn’t find him, so I got Appa and it turned out fine, didn’t it? But…” Renjun hesitated.

“Isn’t he a bit early?” Jaemin bluntly asked.

Donghyuck looked up. He was right. He and the others were only turning 13 this cycle of the season. It was too early to present, which was why it felt so odd that Mark had.

“Ah, but Mark wasn’t sure how old he was when he joined us. Maybe, he’s born a season earlier?” Donghyuck contemplated. Still, he didn’t like that. He didn’t want Mark to be older and now maybe lose interest in playing with them. His brother and Jungwoo had matured a lot after presenting, or so it had felt at that time.

Mark needed to stay with him! It was just a necessity!

Renjun giggled, “So, are you all excited that Mark is probably going to shoot up and get really buff and handsome now like Yukhei?”

Donghyuck mocked gagging, “Where is Yukhei handsome? Tall, maybe, but handsome? He just looks like a grinning idiot most of the time. Gross!”

Mark and he had always been around the same height, Mark having maybe a bit of an edge and being as slim as Renjun, meanwhile, Donghyuck had always been a bit chubbier. He didn’t really care he had some extra fat on his cheeks and tummy. His Appa said it was cute, his Dad said it was perfectly normal and he was just as pretty, if not prettier because of it, and Mark said it was nice and soft.

But the idea that Mark would tower over him made him feel weird. Like ants crawling around his stomach.

“Why should I care, it’s only Mark?”

But he kind of did care, right?

“Hm, yeah, sure.”

Yes, it was only Mark.

But was Mark ever only?

Donghyuck kept mulling it over, trying to imagine Mark’s shoulders broadening, his arms and chest starting to gain muscle, and how his red eyes would look when staring back at him.

Every time he did, he felt like a sudden ants infestation happened over his body.

“It’s not bad, but you can go a bit heavier on the rosemary,” Taeyong said, handing the big spoon back to Donghyuck, who nodded, taking the branch of herbs to add more.

One might think Donghyuck would hate cooking in winter because he had to be outside, but it was fine. They stood so close to the fire, he could warm himself up.

It also served as a great distraction from wondering when Mark would come back and how he would come back. Obviously, he wouldn’t change overnight, but just the changed eyes kind of made Donghyuck feel really weird and worried that now things would be different?

“Jaeminnie, what are you doing? That’s the maple syrup!” Taeyong screeched and Donghyuck almost dropped his whole handful of rosemary into the soup.

“Appa, you said to use the brown stock,” Jaemin whined.

“Yes, stock, not syrup. Did you put any inside already?” Taeyong groaned.

“Maybe?”

Donghyuck quietly giggled to himself. There were few times during which Jaemin could actually get into trouble with his parents, which was why he was the little shit he was. But cooking was a serious matter to Taeyong. If he wanted to fool around, he’d best do that when Yuta had cooking duty.

Donghyuck suddenly smelt ginger and his heart picked up in nervousness.

That was Mark! He had always been easy to identify, but now more than ever.

He looked up to find him coming from the outer line of tents, followed closely by Jaehyun. He looked a bit dishevelled, but fine otherwise. Well, the newly red eyes, he’d still have to get used to.

No, he wouldn’t have changed, at least not that much, right?

Donghyuck couldn’t stay put, he had to check on him! He made sure he wouldn’t drop the spoon in the soup before bouncing over.

To his relief, Mark smiled tiredly but opened his arms, so Donghyuck squeaked and jumped right into them. There, all normal! Oh, what a relief!

“You gave us a good scare there!” he complained loudly into his ear, “Do you even remember?”

“I-I do. I’m sorry,” Mark muttered. Donghyuck quickly let his eyes scan the other’s face. He looked almost the same as always. His thundering heart slowly calmed down upon realising no sudden grave change had taken place and this was still Mark.

Really, there was no reason to get all strung up about Mark, was there?

“Ah, it’s fine. Come on, we’re making stew, it’s too cold not by the fire.”

Obediently, Mark wrapped his arms around Donghyuck as well as possible without hindering his cooking-efforts, so he could share his body-warmth and keep working.

Donghyuck had missed him.

When he realised Mark wouldn’t come back to their sleeping-tent, Donghyuck threw a small fit.

It wasn’t up for discussion. He was no longer a puppy, he couldn’t sleep with them anymore. He moved out to the outer line, in which the adults slept, sharing a tent with Yukhei now.

When he had puffy, red eyes from crying the first night, not able to get comfortable against Jeno, his Dad gently pulled him aside, sitting down in the tent he shared with his Appa. It smelt homely, of both of them, and Donghyuck snuggled into a fox blanket that was soft around his shoulders.

“Hyuckie,” His Dad softly said, scooting closer to hug him. Donghyuck wasn’t as small anymore as he used to be, now reaching to his Dad’s chin, but when he got cuddled he felt very small again.

“Do you remember when I explained to you how growing up, after presenting, your body would change?”

Donghyuck nodded. It had been a few summers ago, that his Dad had explained things like mating and kissing and sex and puppies. It had honestly been a bit boring since Donghyuck had no desire to put his dick anywhere near someone or get a dick anywhere near him, other than during regular playing when it just happened. It seemed even weirder than kissing. But at least he now knew the basics, so that was good.

“Since Mark is now old enough, his body will change and it might be uncomfortable or awkward for him. I also told you that your feelings for someone can change. When before, you were just friends, you might start seeing them as more, fall in love with them, like Yukhei and Jungwoo. That’s why unmated Alphas live with other unmated Alphas and the same goes for Omegas.”

“Fine. But it still sucks,” Donghyuck pouted.

“Yeah, I get that,” his Dad hugged him tighter and let Donghyuck bathe in his body heat for a little until he felt better about the whole situation.

He wouldn’t want to make Mark uncomfortable or hinder him from falling in love with someone.

But Mark had always been his body-heat-partner.

And now, he wouldn’t be anymore, or maybe want to give body heat to someone who wasn’t Donghyuck.

That… no.

But he understood and respected it for the most part.

Not much more changed right away.

Mark got visibly more aggressive during their fighting lessons. Especially when he went against Yukhei, he really went all out.

When it was Donghyuck, he had never really tried to begin with.

But watching from the sidelines, it was sort of… impressive, to watch Mark growl and pin down his opponent.

Donghyuck just wondered why? It was just… fighting? Why did he suddenly think Mark looked cool doing it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	4. Chapter 4 – The Fifteenth Summer, Autumn, and Winter

Donghyuck happily sighed, rolling onto his tummy to let the sun tan his back. His skin always got very dark during summer and he liked it.

“Yah! You lazy ass! We were looking for you, but here you are, sunbathing!” Jaemin hollered.

“Shut up, I’m not letting some baby Alpha command me around,” Donghyuck grunted back, not bothering to even move his eyelids.

“This is why you’re getting fat,” Jaemin cackled.

“Shut up, I told you it’s a growth spurt. Meanwhile, you haven’t grown since last spring,” Donghyuck shot back. As if he’d let anyone get away with such a remark! Jaemin was now shorter than even Renjun and it was quite hilarious, seeing him struggle.

“I will grow, now that I’ve presented,” He yelled back and started dragging Donghyuck by his ankles, who screeched.

Chances were, he actually would. Mark had left them all in the dust last spring, but Donghyuck would enjoy any second he had during which he could still tease him about it.

He finally got up, dressed, and followed into the woods where their fighting took place, only to immediately straighten up when he saw it was his Appa training them today.

It was rare that he did the classes because he had the most other things to do. But when he did, everyone tried their best to show just how good they were and Donghyuck _really_ wasn’t here for it. He hated the exhaustion and the struggle… he just wanted to tan! He internally sighed deeply while Mark and Jeno shifted and immediately launched towards each other.

At least it was training in wolf form today. Impacts were less uncomfortable in this form. But they still sucked and it’d be preferable to not have to do any of this!

Envy filled him when he thought of Jungwoo and Yukhei. They officially counted as adults now and no longer had to do any training, but instead worked with the others in what they were best at and enjoyed the most.

Jeno went down under Mark’s bulkier form and his Appa counted to ten before Mark got up with a huff and licked the loser’s ear in consolation.

Donghyuck wouldn’t mind getting his ears licked if he didn’t have to fight anyone for it before. The struggle…

The two shifted back, a few scratches on both their bodies showing the signs of fighting. Donghyuck knew his eyes were on Mark for a moment too long, but he couldn’t help but worry. He always kind of did even though he never said so because everyone would laugh.

The other had scars on his side from where he had gotten hurt before Donghyuck had first found him. They weren’t as nasty as they used to be, only a bit differently coloured than the rest of his skin after years of healing and taking care of them. Especially since he had started putting on muscle mass, he didn’t look like someone you had to worry over.

But Donghyuck still did. He didn’t want Mark to hurt, ever, no matter how bulky he became, how tall.

“Did I look cool?” Mark asked, standing next to Donghyuck.

“No. Boring. Look, I grew!” He put a hand on his head and let it hover at the same height, knocking it into Mark’s cheek.

“Right. Whatever makes you sleep at night,” Mark snorted with a grin.

“You’re just worried because I’m so going to grow to Appa’s height and you’ll look even lamer next to me than you already do. I wish I could help you, but my coolness doesn’t transfer onto others.” Donghyuck shrugged in mock disappointment.

“You’re impossible!” Mark laughed and nudged him a little, just as Renjun finally tackled Jaemin to the ground for good.

His initial worries had been all over nothing. Jungwoo and Yukhei maturing so much had mainly seemed that way because Donghyuck had still been so immature, back then.

He wasn’t that little anymore.

In fact, he was already growing up a lot, getting closer to adulthood with every day, too, just as his friends did.

Donghyuck knew something was off the moment he woke in the middle of the night, feeling like his throat was lined with sand. He tried taking deep breaths, but the feeling remained. He sat up, coughing. He needed water. He wanted to get up, but everything was spinning and he felt too hot. He wanted to curl up and whine for someone to help him, so he did until he was heard.

“Hyuckie. Hey,” A cold hand settled on his back and Donghyuck immediately started whimpering, leaning into it, “Careful.”

“Sicheng. I’m… I…” Donghyuck tried to find the words but came up blank. Something smelt sweet like the pudding they sometimes cooked, and it was just too much. A sob left his lips, he got too overwhelmed.

“Baba? Hyuck? What’s going on?” Donghyuck heard Renjun ask and he wanted to hear more of the familiar voice, looking for safety, for an explanation for what he didn’t understand. He was so confused, he was almost scared.

“Hyuckie, you need to work with me here. Go back to sleep, Jun-Jun, Donghyuck’s presenting, it’s fine.”

“But he’s crying,” Renjun insisted and Donghyuck grabbed onto the older Omega tightly as he pulled him off the ground. The sweetness was stronger on him, so was he the source of it?

“I know. He’s just overwhelmed. He’ll be perfectly fine. Hyuckie, it’ll be alright, we’re going to take a breath of fresh air outside,” Donghyuck nodded against the taller and felt himself being carried.

His head slowly cleared while Sicheng told him to breathe, nice and steady, but the feeling of being too hot and too alone stayed. He wanted to curl up against someone to warm up at the same time as he wanted to jump right into the closest lake and cool off.

“That’s good, there you go. Good job, Donghyuck,” Sicheng whispered, rubbing his back.

“I’m presenting?” Donghyuck gasped out, pushing the feeling of panic aside. He wasn’t alone. Sicheng was here.

“Yes. You’re in heat. Congratulations,” Sicheng whispered and Donghyuck sniffed, nodding. Why was he crying again? This was dumb. But it just felt too much.

Footsteps were coming closer and he looked up to see his Dad jogging over, quickly crouching down next to them, hugging him tightly, “Hyuckie, it’s okay, shh, it’s okay.”

Donghyuck buried his hands in the soft shirt his Dad was wearing and couldn’t help but start sniffling and crying into his shoulder from relief over the familiarity. The proximity finally helped with the hollowness in his chest a little.

His Dad smelt sweet, too, a bit different than Sicheng. It was just as new as these confusing and overwhelming instincts, but at least this helped relieve them a bit.

Suddenly, there was yelling and growling from somewhere and Donghyuck looked up, clutching tighter onto his Dad. What was going on? He looked over his shoulder the same time that his Dad cursed next to his ear.

Sicheng was on his feet already, “Should have guessed that was going to happen.”

“What? What’s wrong? Why are they growling?” Donghyuck whispered frantically.

“Sweetie, don’t worry. Just someone who probably got very impressed by the pheromones you’re putting off. Let’s get you settled in the tent, okay?”

Donghyuck’s mind raced, trying to comprehend everything that was happening right now and this new information on top.

Right, pheromones, something to appeal to Alphas in his case now. Alphas had them, too, and his Dad has said he’d have to get used to them, maybe feel a bit weird about them at first, and that they’d help him find his mate because their pheromones would be especially nice, different from others’ scents.

And when he was in heat, or an Alpha in rut, they’d be stronger than normal.

Donghyuck had just gotten up on wobbly legs with his Dad’s help when the growling grew more fierce, someone barked, and then he saw a wolf coming from the tent to which Sicheng had run. It was too dark to tell the coat colour, but he was chased by a bigger one, who bit his hind legs and kept him down.

“Come on, I’m starting to get tired, and you should be sleeping as well,” his Dad reminded as if that was the right thing to think about right now. Sleeping was about the last thing on Donghyuck’s mind as he watched the wolf whining and finally submitting under the bigger one, who had growled so loudly.

A hint of ginger travelled over the clearing and Donghyuck had to really pull himself together to not run over.

It took three days, three awful days, during which Donghyuck almost suffocated whichever Omega stayed with him in hugs because he felt so lonely, and had to strip off all his clothing because it was unbearably hot.

He didn’t feel like eating and the others had to force him into drinking.

After three days, it finally stopped. He felt a normal temperature and no longer like everyone was going to leave him alone to die.

His Dad finally let him leave the tent he had had to stay in.

Nothing was different, but at the same time, everything was.

He tried to walk through the camp upright and proud.

The adults and presented boys smelt different and Donghyuck smelt different, too, so he was told. And he was shy and awkward for a moment before Renjun wrapped him in a tight hug, and then he was in a pile with the others, and everything seemed fine.

And Donghyuck was glad.

He thought it’d be weird with Jaemin and Mark, but although they smelt good, it wasn’t as overbearing as he had feared it would be. And Mark’s scent… hadn’t even changed much? He still smelt of ginger, spicier, maybe. But it was something Donghyuck connected to comfort.

So, as quick as his presentation had come, everything returned back to normal, leaving Donghyuck free of worries and just a tiny bit more obsessed with being cuddled because his craving for touch had become even stronger.

“No. The balance is off. If you stand like that, someone can just swipe you off your feet easily. Again,” Jaehyun gestured at Jaemin’s feet, who adjusted his stance.

Donghyuck was ready to pass out already, but the Alpha didn’t care about that. His teaching style was the hardest because he put a focus on technique, rather than just letting them gain experience by duelling. He didn’t let them take breaks while the others fought and he didn’t give Donghyuck a chance to slack off and just pretend to be fighting.

It was exhausting.

“Mark, you’re not focussed. Jisung, I can see you’re pulling on Chenle’s pants, stop it. Donghyuck, put your weight down, you’re not planted to the ground properly, you need to be like a tree. And one, two, three. Jaemin, the balance was off again. I want to see another repeat.”

“But Dad…”

Jaehyun clapped his hands.

If Taeyong didn’t joke around cooking, Jaehyun was dead serious when it came to fighting.

Donghyuck felt very sorry for himself. Not so much for Jaemin. After all, the young Alpha took every single moment of light to show off his slowly building muscle to anyone who asked. Or didn’t ask. The only person he had managed to impress so far was Chenle. And Yukhei had encouraged him to work harder. Probably not a compliment.

“One, two, three. Well. That was slightly better than the last time. Still needs a lot of work, though,” Jaehyun nodded. That _probably_ was a compliment, he was hard to read when he became serious, “Alright, dismissed for today!” Donghyuck was already thinking about what there was for dinner. Who was on cooking duty? Yuta?

Donghyuck always wanted to hold onto the last days of summer the most. The colourful leaves were pretty, but he couldn’t help feeling a sense of sadness creep onto him as the days shortened and the temperature cooled, the rays of sun weakening.

“I don’t want summer to end,” Donghyuck mumbled, glaring at the sky like that would change anything. Maybe he should write a letter and burn it in hopes of anyone getting his message…?

“You always say that,” Renjun chuckled, pulling the fur tighter around himself.

“And I always mean it! I hate winter!”

After glancing to see that Jaemin and Mark were still very much in each other’s hair and out of earshot, Renjun whispered: “Actually, this year, I also don’t want it to end.”

Donghyuck wordlessly scooted closer and wrapped his hands over Renjun’s. The other wasn’t touchy most of the time, but Donghyuck was, and he didn’t pull away from the comfort.

“Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you won’t present. Mark presented in the dead of winter,” Donghyuck returned.

Renjun was the only one whose eyes were still brown. Donghyuck remembered having been bored with the colour not too long ago, but since his presentation, his eyes were a calm, dark shade of blue.

“But I was born in winter. It was fine because Jeno’s a spring child, too, but now even he left me alone. I’ll be 15 and still un-presented, isn’t it weird?” Renjun asked, worry and insecurity swimming in his eyes.

Jeno had presented yesterday, during a hunt. The calmest of all the Alphas, just like his personality. Donghyuck and most pack members had even been a little surprised to find out his eyes had turned red, rather than blue.

“It’s not weird,” Donghyuck assured, but Renjun didn’t believe him, he saw it in his eyes.

“It is weird. Just how you all just have two parents and I have three. I don’t even know who got my Baba pregnant, Chichi or Appa. Maybe… that’s why? Maybe I’m not normal,” Renjun’s voice cracked a little at the last words.

Donghyuck quickly wrapped his arms around the petite boy, holding him tight, “No, Injunnie! No, no, no, you’re totally normal. And isn’t having an extra Dad so awesome? You get even more hugs and love. Okay, you get more embarrassment and nagging, too, but whatever. It doesn’t matter who was the one to do that knotting thing. They both love you so much and you love them, too, don’t you?”

“I do,” Renjun choked. “But… I still feel like I’m not normal. Don’t you think so?”

“No, I don’t. And I’m sure no one else does. You know how some fish take longer to grow? But then they taste the best,” Donghyuck squeezed his friend and Renjun nodded.

“That comparison was terrible. But I still feel better. Which is dumb,” Renjun mumbled.

“I’ll let that insult slip because you let me cuddle you and you’re really tiny, easy to hold, just a bit bony.”

“I’m not tiny. It’s just that you all grew too much. I’m still hoping I inherited Baba’s height, not Appa’s. I’ll show you. One day.”

“I hoped I got Appa’s height, too, and, apparently, I got Dad’s, so.”

“Maybe Yukhei used all the height up already?”

“Jisung’s looking kinda tall, so that’s bad. Between Yukhei and him, I think I’ll end up the shortest sibling. I hate losing to them,” Donghyuck grumbled.

“Don’t have any siblings, can’t relate,” Renjun grinned.

“Lucky.”

Donghyuck wrote a letter of complaint onto a big yellow leaf and burnt it, praying to the moon while flames ate it away.

It didn’t help. Which was just unbelievably rude and inconsiderate. All the leaves fell and so did the temperatures. Soon, the earth was coated in snow and the bodies of water frozen over, leaving them to spend most of their time inside, where it was warmer.

“No, don’t let go, Moon, I’ll fall and split my head open, this was a terrible idea!” Donghyuck screeched, clinging onto Mark’s arm tighter. He had tried to let go of his hand, which had earned him a whole arm full of Omega in thick furs.

“It’s not like there’s anything valuable inside it, so whatever,” Jaemin hollered from where he was effortlessly gliding over the ice. Donghyuck hated his friends. All but Mark, of course.

“If you’re scared, Jaemin, Renjun, and I can go on our own and you train a little more?” Jeno suggested. His eyes were a shade of red so dark it almost passed for black, making him far less intimidating than someone like Mark. It fit well when he already wasn’t the Omega everyone had sort of expected him to be – save for his baba. Some said an Omega’s instinct was never wrong. There had to be some truth to that.

In the end, Alpha or Omega, didn’t make any difference, so no one had been hung up about it for more than the time you needed to dunk out a bucket of water.

“Or we leave Hyuckie here because he’s the only one stumbling like a fawn,” Renjun teased. Donghyuck wanted to hit him for being mean, but he couldn’t get closer to him, so there was that.

“No, it’s fine. We could also go back home if you want to, Hyuck?” Mark suggested. He nodded against his friend’s arm. Skating was scary.

“Boring,” Jaemin yelled, already far away from them. Donghyuck ignored him and tried to work his legs how he knew he was supposed to next to Mark, getting back to the shore.

“I have never been happier to stand on snow than right now,” Donghyuck wailed the moment Mark dragged him back onto the ground, “Thank you for saving me. My hero!” He sweetly teased, nuzzling against Mark.

Donghyuck’s nose twitched as he smelt a spike of spicy ginger, his head getting a bit clouded just for a moment. It happened from time to time, Mark’s scent getting to his head, but Donghyuck was never scared. It was always comforting in the best ways. Maybe a little weird. You weren’t supposed to get light-headed over your friends, right?

“It’s nothing. You looked really dorky out there,” Mark weakly insulted back.

“Can we go back? Those three will find their way back, right? I’m cold.”

“You wouldn’t be cold if you had worked out.”

“Shut up, hey! I didn’t say you could separate from my side! I need your body heat!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love stealing ideas from myself. :D
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	5. Chapter 5 – The Fifteenth Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Suicide in a story told in this story

Donghyuck stared at the trees between which Yukhei had just disappeared.

A weird feeling tugged in his gut. Like something had just ended. He had felt similarly when he had come out of his first heat. Something ended, that he wouldn’t get back. Maybe childhood? It was weird.

His older brother had been an official adult for longer, but getting mated… that really meant he was grown up now, didn’t it?

It had taken them long enough, the adults had said. Once you were around 18, you could get mated. Courting often started before because you could already find a liking for someone before your body was ready for all that knotting stuff. In Jungwoo and Yukhei’s case, their weird courting had continued for another year until they were finally mentally ready. The last stage was the so-called chase. The Omega had to be in heat and would run off to the forest first, followed by the Alpha, who had to find them to claim them.

It sounded a bit scary, but, allegedly, it was nice once you were old enough, his Dad had assured Donghyuck.

He slipped his hand into Mark’s as he always did when he felt insecure. Mark was safety, Mark was calmness.

“I’m shocked my dumb brother is getting mated to the sweetest person ever,” He mumbled.

“Aren’t we all?” Renjun shook his head.

“I don’t see where my brother is the sweetest person ever,” Jaemin sniffed, obviously not meaning it.

“Yeah, because you’re a spoilt little brat,” Jeno laughed and Jaemin was on him, squeezing his neck playfully, in the blink of an eye.

“Guys, stop being an embarrassment to the public and get off each other,” Renjun complained, stepping away from the bickering Alphas.

In the blink of an eye, Jeno and Jaemin let go, standing straight, looking like scolded puppies. Which they were. Only the one scolding them was just as much a puppy. Donghyuck snorted a small laugh into his fist.

Renjun had always had a certain power over the other two, but recently, it had gotten to a point where they behaved like trained pets. It was cute. Especially since Renjun still sometimes curled against Donghyuck, opening up about his insecurity over being un-presented.

Donghyuck knew the others didn’t care. It was obvious that Jeno and Jaemin didn’t, or they wouldn’t follow his every command but instead not take them seriously.

He also understood that it was worrying Renjun, who had turned 15 during these snowy winter days.

“I need a cuddle pile, guys, it’s so cold,” Donghyuck announced.

“I have to help Dad chop wood before the sun completely sets. I didn’t finish earlier,” Jeno admitted, resulting in Jaemin snickering over his misery.

“Doyoung would be fine with me helping, right? That way it’ll be faster,” Renjun offered, in a rare moment of selflessness.

Then again, Jeno was sort of Renjun’s only weak spot.

Donghyuck had always thought if Jeno presented Omega and Renjun Alpha, they’d most likely end up together. But with the Alpha status and Jaemin in the mix, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Would you? Thank you, that’d be great! I’m just waiting for the day that Chenle’s no longer the size of a rabbit and can pull his weight in this family,” Jeno snorted.

“No, he’s so adorable and cute!” Donghyuck cooed. Unlike his own little brother, Jeno’s was a ray of sunshine and under Donghyuck’s personal protection when he wasn’t stuck to his annoying little pest of a best friend that was nothing but a bad influence, but unfortunately the only same-aged puppy in the pack.

“That’s only because he’s not _your_ brother,” Jeno mumbled.

“Whatever, let’s just get on with that cuddle pile, Mark, you in? I’m freezing my butt off,” Jaemin whined, clinging to Donghyuck’s arm. He was a hair’s breadth taller than him now but hadn’t noticed yet. Donghyuck had, but he was not going to be the one pointing it out just so the Alpha could be annoying over it.

Mark nodded and they moved to get inside, where it was much better suited for a cuddle-pile.

The worst part about Jungwoo and Yukhei mating was that from today on Donghyuck would be alone in his tent. He tried not to think too hard about that. His fur was going to keep him warm and protected against the loneliness, he’d just cuddle more over the day.

Mark smelt soothingly of ginger and Donghyuck made sure to nuzzle his head as close to his scent glands as he could get before Mark would get ticklish. Scent glands were sensitive. Donghyuck knew. Everyone presented knew.

Then, they had late snow. Donghyuck was sad that the early spring flowers had frozen under it and he had been looking forward to finally seeing the green of the forest again. So, overall, his mood wasn’t exactly the best these days.

Sleeping alone was making him feel lonely right upon waking up.

To fight it, he had started stealing Mark’s spare furs that smelt just enough of ginger to not be overwhelming, to curl up on.

“Hyuck. Hyuck!” Donghyuck got ripped from his thoughts over dead flowers by Jeno’s panicked voice. “It’s burning! Why are you burning the meat? You never burn it!”

Donghyuck’s eyes widened when he realised Jeno was right and he had gotten so lost in his own head he had messed up. He quickly turned the piece and inspected the damage.

“It’s not too bad. I think,” Donghyuck poked the dark parts.

“Baba! Can we still eat this?” Jeno asked loudly over the cooking place, concern in his voice. Donghyuck felt guilt nag on his mind. Renjun had caught this on a solo hunt. And now he was ruining it.

Tears started welling up in his eyes as the familiar scent of the older Omega washed over him.

“Let me see, Hyuckie. Oh, there? Hm. No, don’t worry, it’s not too bad, it hasn’t turned black yet. It might taste a little stronger, but not burnt. Hyuckie? Hey, why are you crying?”

Donghyuck hiccuped and rubbed over his cheeks where wet trails streaked them, “It’s Injunnie’s and I ruined it.”

“It’s not ruined. Jeno, check the stew over there, will you? Look, we’ll present it with this side up and it’s perfect. No one will even notice.” He turned the meat once more, revealing an evenly fried side before taking it off the hot stone. Donghyuck nodded and tried to stop himself from crying, but somehow he couldn’t.

“How about I finish the rest with Jeno and Jisung, and you find someone to cuddle with before lunch? How does that sound?”

Donghyuck almost started sobbing. He definitely wanted to cuddle someone. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Off you go, but keep your ears open or the meat will be gone before you even see it in its finished state,” Kun smiled and waved him goodbye with the chopsticks he was holding.

Donghyuck darted off to where he knew Mark was working on the leathers. The working tent wasn’t as nice and comfortable as a sleeping tent, but it was warm and smelt of bee wax. Mark was sitting in a corner and working, immediately looking up when Donghyuck slipped past the opening flap.

The others only glanced up before focussing on their tasks again, and Donghyuck curled up against Mark, burying his nose in the thick wool the Alpha was wearing to hide his tears.

Mark held as still as possible as he picked back up where he had been rubbing the leather, asking in a gentle voice if he was alright.

Donghyuck muffled back a confirmation and added something about frozen flowers, which Mark knew upset him, and they just sat in silence.

He didn’t know why he craved the spicy ginger scent more than anything else. Probably because it always, without fail, helped him calm down. It was like he was wrapping himself into a cosy blanket and hid in a hollow tree where he knew he was both protected and comfortable.

He felt safe with his Appa and he felt comfortable with his Dad. Yet, these days, he always chose Mark over them for situations like this.

When the snow was finally really melting and the evenings became warm enough to sit by the fire even after sundown, Donghyuck’s mood lifted for the better.

Even fighting lessons didn’t seem that terrible despite the adults pushing him extra hard. He had Omega presentation to thank for that – he had never been a fighter. Now he was even less of a fighter, but now he had to try even harder to be one. His general affection for everyone but Jisung, the little brat, and his instincts that were so submissive it almost hurt to actually throw punches made it difficult, but he understood it was important to not be an obvious target and weak link, so he did what he had to.

Donghyuck sported a gash on his cheek from where Renjun had gotten him hard and decided to mope and annoy everyone on cooking duty.

“You’re chopping the carrots way too big, Nana, those won’t boil thoroughly in time. That’s way too much coriander, that’ll taste bitter.”

A wooden chopping board came flying.

“Hey! Jaemin! What are you doing?” Taeyong growled from where he was roasting the deer, “Those aren’t for throwing, especially at a fellow pack member!”

“But Appa, he was being mean!”

Traitor. Donghyuck saw Taeyong’s face soften.

“I already have a busted face, what if that had actually _hit_ me?” Donghyuck whined loudly and watched with satisfaction as new worry took the Omega’s face.

“No throwing of cutting boards! And the soup won’t cook itself, Jaemin!”

Jaemin glared at Donghyuck, who returned the chopping board with a big grin. Chenle was unsuccessfully stifling giggles behind his hand.

Jaemin finished chopping the carrots too big and Donghyuck considered nagging him again because he hated crunchy carrots in his soup, but he decided against it.

Slowly, more and more pack members came to the fireplace, gearing up for dinner as the sun sunk behind the trees.

“Hyuckie, how is your face?” Doyoung asked when he arrived, eyes immediately finding the blemish he had taken care of after it had happened earlier. Admittedly, it wasn’t that bad, he hadn’t even had to sew it, but still. Donghyuck looked up at the older, thankful someone was paying him the attention he craved.

He reached up to feel the gash, but his hand was pushed away, “Don’t aggravate it. It closed quite well. It might leave a small scar, but nothing too big if you leave it in peace.”

“It hurts, though,” Donghyuck pouted. He also had a bruise and he wasn’t sure if he was one for the intense warrior-look. He might not be, he looked quite silly, in his own humble opinion. Doyoung nodded and crouched down next to him.

“I heard Renjun’s worried you’re angry that he hit you because you didn’t join him in the working tent,” Doyoung gently asked. Donghyuck blinked at him with wide eyes.

“No! I’m not! Why would he think that? I’m not angry, it happens all the time! I’ll go and tell him right away,” He jumped off the ground, but Doyoung held him back from bolting right towards the tent where Renjun must be. They only had one working tent, it was pretty obvious.

“Hyuckie? Just be a bit careful. Mark’s a bit… upset. Don’t run inside, but be slow about it, okay? We don’t want any fighting,” Doyoung smiled. Donghyuck just rolled his eyes. Alphas and their weird instincts. He was glad he wasn’t an Alpha, he wouldn’t want to deal with territorial bullshit.

Still, his insides felt funny. Jaemin wasn’t angry and neither was Jeno. It was just Mark, right?

During duelling, Mark always made sure he could anticipate his next move and never used too much force. After his first heat, Mark had become so careful, Donghyuck had started winning against him. Jaehyun had chewed his ear off, but he still did it the second time until Donghyuck had announced that no Omega would want to mate Mark if he couldn’t even stand his ground against him.

So, now Mark was winning again, but Donghyuck never actually got any scratches and bruises from the fights. None of the other Alphas did that. Sure, they might be a bit more careful with him because he wasn’t a great fighter, but they’d not hesitate to punch so it hurt.

Donghyuck snuck into the working tent, spotting Renjun close to the entrance and Mark all the way on the other side. A few adults were working on wood, but Renjun seemed lost in repairing a pair of pants to a point that seemed too much, the seam thick and stiff because he kept going over it.

The two youngers’ heads snapped up and Donghyuck sent Mark a smile before slipping next to Renjun.

“I’m not angry you punched me, you know?” he purred and curled against Renjun.

“Really? Because I thought you were ignoring me and Mark said it was rude to punch you in your beau- umph,” A hand had snaked around his face and held his mouth shut. Donghyuck grinned up at Mark, whose cheeks had darkened pink.

“Don’t worry, Mark, my beautiful face is just fine. Thanks to Injun, I will look like the fierce warrior I’m not,” Donghyuck giggled and Mark’s flush deepened. It was cute.

Turned out the scar the wound left was so minuscule, Donghyuck ended up not looking more like a warrior than he had before.

Consequently, he teased Mark with his ‘beautiful face’ until he snapped and held his mouth shut, begging him to stop.

Donghyuck only had because his heart had nearly leapt out of his chest when Mark had stared at him like that. A concerning reaction.

Slowly, spring became warmer. With it, the nights became short and the work plenty, but the evenings by the campfire, spent with the pack, were something Donghyuck loved and would only get during these seasons, so they made up for aching muscles from fieldwork.

He was leaning against his Appa, bathing in both his body heat and scent, while his Dad was on his other side, Jisung leaning onto him. Mark was on the other side of the bonfire, claimed by Taeyong and his mother hen instincts. The fire was crackling and helped keep them warm and illuminate the night enough to still see well enough. It wasn’t summer yet. Once the sun was gone, it still cooled off considerably, but snuggled together, it was just warm enough.

“So today, upon popular request, I will tell you the story of the Mountain pack and the Sea pack,” Kun’s voice was just loud enough to travel over the fire for everyone to hear and keep a mysterious atmosphere. This sort of evening was rare, but the borders were quiet. His Appa had decided just sending Jaehyun and Yukhei on patrol would be enough. The rest of the pack had taken the chance and met up under the almost full moon.

Normally he was too old for storytime. That was for Jisung and Chenle before they went to bed. But since everyone was listening, Donghyuck dropped the act and just enjoyed it. Kun’s voice was easy to listen to and the story he was about to tell, despite having heard it so many times before, was one of his favourites, too.

“A long time ago, long before even the oldest trees of our forest had started growing, there were two packs, whose hatred for each other was stronger than anything we know. One pack lived on the edge of the sea, their land even and easy to travel, rich in fish and the soil fertile. The other pack lived on the mountains that rose behind the shore, their hunting grounds full of prey and the woods plentiful in fruits.

“Each pack had everything they needed and each could have lived happily, without ever challenging the other for ground. There were lots of wolves in them both, easily over a hundred people, who could live off the territory.

“But envy’s evil head showed itself and what started with small bickering over metres of land played up to much death and misery on both sides. Their conflict lasted for more than a wolf’s lifetime and puppies grew up learning to hate anyone from the other pack and think the land the others held had been stolen from them and was rightfully theirs, thus reasoning the constant fighting over it.

“Then, during one full moon when the woods were the lightest and easy to travel, a puppy from the Mountain pack and a puppy from the Sea pack got lost in the forest, finding their way to the border, where they met each other. Of course, they knew the other one was supposedly evil and started fighting, but as they spoke, they realised they were both told stories that didn’t fit each other.

“So, as puppies, they quickly ceased their fighting in favour of playing, forgetting about the packs at home worrying over each of their leaders’ children respectively. When they found them, the search parties of both packs fought, but because of the puppies, they stuck to words rather than fists, likely sparing many lives that could have been lost in yet another pointless battle. Back at home, the parents told the puppies how bad the other pack was and they should never go near the border again, much less talk to their enemies.

“However, both puppies knew about the other already and they knew the other had been nice and a good buddy to play with. The puppy from the Sea pack liked the white fur of the Mountain pack puppy and the scent of flowers that wouldn’t grow on the shore. The puppy from the Mountain pack was intrigued by the Sea pack puppy’s dark fur and the scent of salt, that never reached the mountains.

“So, whenever they got the chance to, they slipped from their pack to see each other again. Often the other one didn’t manage to get away the same night, but sometimes they met and those were the happiest times.

“Despite their packs around them fighting, they kept growing an understanding for each other. When they were old enough to present, the puppy from the Sea pack became an Alpha and the one from the Mountains an Omega.

“The moment they smelt each other, they knew that their fates were deeply intertwined. They were destined mates, which was why they had been able to smell the other even as puppies. But they also knew their packs would never let them be with each other if they found out. So, when they became old enough, they met up on a full moon night and mated without either of their packs knowing. When the Sea pack border patrols found them, it was too late already, the bond sealed forever.

“Of course, they were furious. The child of their leader had been seduced and claimed by their enemies and they didn’t believe them when they insisted that they were in love and destined as mates. The patrol wanted the Omega dead and they tried to force the Alpha to kill their own mate. As they were in love, they refused, sending their mate home while they distracted the border patrol.

“The Omega ran home, but there was no hiding the mating bite and the leader quickly got word of it, forcing the information about who the Alpha was out of the Omega. They began planning for an invasion immediately, not listening to a single of the Omega’s pleas to spare the one they loved and their pack, instead telling them that their feelings weren’t real and they couldn’t stay with their mate.

“The Omega’s heart was full of pain and they fled their own pack, blindly running to where they knew their mate was going to be. Their intuition ended up being right as they found them right where they had met for the first and so many times since.

“The Alpha had run away from the cruel plans of their own pack as well, not able to stand in line with people planning to hurt the pack of their beloved.

“They knew in life they were destined to be together but their circumstance would never allow it, only in death could they never be separated for their bond would tie them until the end of times.

“So, after one final reassurance of their love, they took their own lives, right on the clearing where they had met for the first time, with one single spear through both of their chests.

“It wasn’t long before their packs found them and, of course, they were beyond themselves in grief. For once, anger and hatred weren’t clouding their vision and, slowly, they started talking. Not only about the two destined mates, whose lives had been the last sacrifices of their neverending war, but also about the many other pack members they had lost. In their shared grief and shared worries, they recognised how much harm it caused both of them, neither benefitting and neither winning anything in the pointless battles, but only losing more and more.

“And so, over the loss of their children, the pack leaders made peace. With the coming generations, they started mixing. Sometimes mates found each other in the other pack, rather than in their own. All because the love of the destined mates had been strong enough that they wouldn’t fear death.”

There was silence, and someone was definitely sniffing, before Jisung complained.

“I hate the ending! Why don’t they talk right away? It’s so dumb, that they love each other and then – bam – just die.”

“Shut up, it’s super romantic, you’re just too dumb to realise that,” Donghyuck growled at his little brother past their parents, who rolled their eyes as they each held one child back from lunging at each other.

“Shut up, _dying_ is dumb, not me!” Jisung sneered.

“Shut up, you are dumb!”

“No, you’re dumb! Dumb, dumb, dumb!”

“Take that back! I’m older than you!”

“And dumber!”

“Stop it right now, both of you!” their Dad’s voice cut them off. He didn’t need to yell, it was enough for Donghyuck and Jisung both to pull back immediately, “And now both of you apologise, there’s no reason to insult a story.”

Donghyuck curled up on a fox pelt that night. It wasn’t so cold anymore, not much longer and he could sleep in human form. But he didn’t use the pelt for warmth, just to simply enjoy the ginger scent it carried and that helped him sleep.

He knew that destined mates were something that happened in stories.

But…

Sometimes, the idea that maybe, just maybe, Mark’s scent, that he had been able to identify ever since he had found the other, was a hint that he was more than someone Donghyuck trusted in and adored like a good friend.

He pushed the thought aside and snuggled into the fur, letting sleep carry him off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally copied Romeo and Juliet there, which btw could have had a much more fun ending than everyone dying, btw.
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	6. Chapter 6 – The Fifteenth Spring

“Well, I think you need to take it in more. If you fold it in, instead of cutting off the excess, you could always make it bigger if you grow some more, but it looks like a very fancy sack as it is now,” Donghyuck announced. Spring sun was warm enough for them to take their tasks outside of the working tent. Renjun, Chenle, and he were doing just that, sewing in the warm afternoon sun on the clearing closest to their village, just far enough that they were alone.

Renjun looked down and frowned.

“I’m totally gonna grow some more,” He mumbled. Donghyuck smiled in understanding. Renjun was not only short but petite, making him seem delicate and frail when he wasn’t. Donghyuck wasn’t tall either, he was just a breath taller than Renjun, but he had more build to himself. The baby fat that used to cling to his frame was melting into more defined shapes on most body parts, sculpting soft curves. Donghyuck had never been hung up about it, but he was starting to truly find his body beautiful as it matured.

“But right now, you don’t wanna look like you stole your Chichi’s clothing, do you?” Donghyuck asked, raising an eyebrow, and Renjun sighed before taking the garment in.

“It’s gonna look butchered anyway. You know my sewing skills are crap and Appa will have to fix this,” He mumbled.

“At least you’re not guilt-tripping him into doing the whole thing for you, like Jaeminnie,” Donghyuck snickered.

“What’s guilt-tripping?” Chenle asked, looking up from where he was trying to make even stitches into a simple pair of trousers.

Donghyuck did his best to explain to a wide-eyed Chenle how Jaemin was a terrible role model and spoilt brat but still the sweetest person on earth without confusing the younger. It didn’t seem to work. As he was scrambling for words, the clearing suddenly started smelling sweet. So sweet, that his nose twitched involuntarily.

It took him a second to realise what was happening, but then Donghyuck whipped his head around to look at Renjun, who was frowning at the fabric in his hands.

“Injunnie?”

“Hm?” Renjun looked up at Donghyuck and frowned some more, visibly scenting the air before starting to look confused.

“Um, are you feeling okay?” Donghyuck carefully asked. The sweetness in the air got so intense, it was like he was breathing in honey now. He had smelt countless heats and ruts, but this level of pheromones was… quite something.

“Actually… I don’t know,” Renjun dropped his hands, clinging onto the fabric, “I suddenly feel really… weird. Sick?” he mumbled and started hugging himself. He blinked and when he opened his eyes again, they were no longer brown but blue.

Donghyuck felt himself take a sharp breath.

Uh, help?

Yes, help, he needed help, he so did!

“Chenle, get one of the adults. Maybe an Omega. Can you do that? And be fast, like, really fast!” Donghyuck urged the younger, who was looking at them with huge eyes.

“Why?”

“Renjun’s presenting. Don’t worry, it’s not scary,” It definitely was, “We just… need someone. In case,” He tried, but Chenle still looked overwhelmed. Luckily, after a second of recovery, the puppy nodded and jumped to his feet, dashing off between the trees.

“I’m really?” Renjun asked and when Donghyuck turned his head, the other’s newly blue eyes were watery and there was no smile on his face. He was still hugging himself, starting to tremble faintly.

“Yes. You are! This is great!” Donghyuck beamed and quickly scooted over to hug him, remembering the feeling of unbearable loneliness the first time he had come into his nature.

Renjun kept trembling in his arms.

“But… are you sure?” he stuttered.

“Yeah, why?”

“I… it smells sweet. I wasn’t supposed… I didn’t think…”

Donghyuck squeezed him tighter, knowing what he meant to say.

Renjun had always expected to be Alpha. Everyone had kind of assumed he would be an Alpha. His behaviour pointed towards that like nothing else. However, his body didn’t, which was why the adults had long stopped mentioning it.

“Being an Omega doesn’t change anything, Injunnie. Omega or Alpha – you can still fight and punch people and hunt,” Donghyuck mumbled.

“But – you and Jungwoo hate fighting. And the Alphas don’t really fight when they step up against you because they don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want their pity!” Renjun choked out.

“No one pities you. Jungwoo and I, we have always hated fighting. You always liked it, you don’t have to change that because you’re an Omega. And you can show the Alphas who’s boss and they’ll have no choice but to fight back or get their asses whipped. Well, they will still get their asses whipped even if they try and fight back,” Donghyuck tried to reassure him, but Renjun was full-on sobbing in his arms now and he felt very unqualified and overwhelmed, unsure what to do.

There was no denying, certain instincts were yelling at him at times and he didn’t use to have those. To Donghyuck, that had never been unwelcome or annoying. They usually worked in his favour or warned him of danger.

He wasn’t sure how this worked for others. He knew that the Alphas sometimes had a hard time holding themselves back, especially in wolf form.

But would his nature hold Renjun back?

Would it force him into something he wasn’t? That didn’t seem right.

He didn’t know how to say that without making it worse, so he didn’t say anything and just stroked over his friend’s back.

Not much time could have passed when the bushes rustled and his Dad and Taeyong came onto the clearing, followed by the wide-eyed Chenle, cheeks pink from exhaustion. He must have raced, with how quickly they had come.

They were next to them in the blink of an eye and Donghyuck appreciated his Dad’s hand on his shoulder, giving silent support.

“Injunnie. Hey, sweetie. We need to get you back to the camp,” Taeyong gently said, putting his hand on Renjun’s back, that was rising in irregular patterns.

“No,” Renjun cried, holding onto Donghyuck tighter, “I don’t want to go.”

“Renjun, you can’t stay here. We need you somewhere safe and enclosed. There’s a lot of pheromones and those don’t do well in the wild. You know they’re supposed to lure Alphas in. That’s not what we’re looking to do here,” Donghyuck’s Dad was level headed as ever, cutting straight to the point.

“I don’t care! I can just punch them if they get too close,” Renjun growled and made no signs of moving.

“Of course, you can. But remember that you’re going into heat and your body will be weakened. No one would fight while battling the flu, either. So, you shouldn’t risk it in heat,” Taeyong tried to make Renjun understand, but there was no getting through to him.

“No! I don’t want to! I don’t wanna!” Renjun’s voice got quieter until he was just hick-upping into Donghyuck’s shirt, wet from tears at this point. He wished he could help him, but he seemed so incredibly upset, he might just need a few minutes to calm down, or hours… or… days.

Donghyuck noticed Taeyong’s worried glances around and his Dad’s tight expression. He vividly recalled Mark going a bit wild when he had presented, though he tried not to read too much into it. Now, they had three young unmated Alphas. It didn’t sound like fun to get those too close.

“We should carry him,” Ten softly suggested.

Unfortunately, Renjun started struggling, kicking and punching, the moment they tried to separate him from Donghyuck. Even considering stubbornness and the fact he had managed to get Mark to camp cycles of seasons ago, Donghyuck was sure he wasn’t strong enough to carry Renjun.

Donghyuck held his cheek, that had gotten hit when he hadn’t been able to dodge it. He didn’t blame Renjun. He remembered it had felt really bad to present and that was not considered to present something you hadn’t expected.

“Injunnie. We really have to go home. My tent is super nice, promise. And now I won’t be alone anymore! I’m so happy!” Donghyuck tried, but Renjun shook his head, “Do you want to stay here? It gets cold in the night!” he used another method. Getting Renjun to say what he wanted should work, right?

“No. I… I want my Dad,” Renjun finally choked out before his voice broke off with more tears.

Taeyong seemed to consider which one for a second, but then thought better of it and was gone in the blink of an eye.

Chenle was sent away next because he couldn’t help them anyway. Secretly, Donghyuck was sure his Dad didn’t want the puppy to think this was the standard procedure and get scared. He certainly didn’t want Chenle to get scared, but it might be too late at this point of witnessing this wreck of a presentation.

It seemed to take forever and Donghyuck slowly began to worry. The longer they waited, the further the pheromones would travel.

Worse, Renjun showed no sign of calming down. He was still shaking and crying, but Donghyuck was unable to help him. He didn’t want to stress his friend, didn’t want to make any mistakes, but he also didn’t know what else to try. Renjun was usually very rational, seemingly cold even. Him being so emotional right now made it hard to know what’d help him.

He was endlessly relieved that his Dad never left but silently sat behind him and rubbed his back, soothingly speaking to Renjun. As the time stretched on, he at least seemed to let himself be pacified little by little through that.

When his arm, on which he was holding most of Renjun’s weight, was going numb, the bushes finally rustled and a dishevelled Yuta, followed by Taeyong, pushed through the leaves. Donghyuck wasn’t sure on which duty he had been, but his hair was sweaty and matted to his forehead, so he must have been roaming the woods.

He immediately focussed on Renjun and rushed over, concern on his face.

Renjun raised his face from Donghyuck’s shirt, eyes red and puffy, new tears pooling immediately when he recognised his father.

“Chichi!” he called, voice raspy. Yuta crouched in front of them and Renjun finally let go of Donghyuck, clinging onto his father now, who gently wrapped him into his arms, cradling his neck carefully as Renjun started wailing again. The Alpha pulled his son up from the ground, carrying him in strong arms.

Donghyuck felt so helpless even when Yuta shot him a thankful smile.

His Dad pulled him to his feet and helped to collect the unfinished sewing projects to take along. Donghyuck didn’t let go of his hand and his Dad rubbed the back of it soothingly.

“He’ll be okay, right?” he whispered as they followed the other three down the path to camp, flat and well used.

“Of course he will, Hyuckie. He’s overwhelmed and judging from his pheromones, I’d say he’s hit pretty strongly. It might be because he’s so late, that he gets it worse. But the first time you felt your instincts, it was a lot, wasn’t it?”

Donghyuck nodded, remembering clearly.

“He’s going through the same. He’ll calm down in no time and, in three days, he’ll be running around just fine. You did very well there, Hyuckie, your reaction couldn’t have been better. I’m sure he’ll be thankful, once he sorts out his emotions.”

He nodded once more, grabbing his Dad tighter. The trees thinned out and they stepped into the huge clearing, headed straight for the Omega tent, Yuta and Taeyong already several steps ahead of them. There was an upside to this mess: he wouldn’t be alone anymore.

The memory of the fur on his floor suddenly struck Donghyuck and his face flushed dark red. No one knew about that. No one ever entered his hut. For cuddling, they went to the Alpha hut. If they found that…

“Dad, I remembered I have something very personal in my tent I need to take care of very quickly,” Donghyuck squeaked and darted off, leaving his father behind, who looked after him first in confusion, then silent understanding.

Contrary to popular belief, parents used to be young once, too.

Donghyuck dashed past Yuta and dove into the tent, grabbing the fur and running back out before anyone could enter. He noticed Jaemin and Mark on the edge of the woods, eyes trained on the small party, but staying put.

Donghyuck threw the fur onto the stack of clothing up for washing. That had been close! He had no idea how he should have explained this without completely embarrassing himself.

The adrenaline wore off and he felt weird about Renjun having been so upset again. He needed more cuddling, but he wasn’t up for Alpha-Drama and would much rather be with his Dad some more, so he returned to where he had spontaneously left from.

“Already taken care of?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Donghyuck plastered a sweet smile on, hoping to hide the pinkness in his cheeks.

“Yes.”

When Donghyuck returned to his tent later that evening, Renjun was already passed out with his head in Sicheng’s lap, who was quietly sharpening knives. Just normal things.

He quietly rolled up next to the two, happy to share the tent with not only one, but two other people.

The next morning, Renjun had his legs over his belly and his head in his father’s arms, face swollen, and Donghyuck decided to make the best breakfast of all breakfasts.

He found Jaemin by the fire, who sat uncharacteristically straight and kept glancing around. Donghyuck just rolled his eyes before returning to the tent with all the food he could find.

Heat, especially the first, sucked and just as Donghyuck had, Renjun kept whoever let him in a death-grip. He offered himself for plenty of that, but he did have some duties to fulfil and he also wanted to leave the tent even though Renjun, unfortunately, couldn’t.

When he finished laundry duty before the sun got too weak to be nice and warm, he decided to go and tan with someone. The viola clearing should start to look beautiful during this time when the blossoms shyly started opening.

He found Jeno very forcefully sweeping the perfectly clean fireplace.

“Hey, I wanna go sunbathe. But not alone,” Donghyuck announced and Jeno skittishly fumbled with the broom.

“Away from here?”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to use the cooking stone as a bed.”

“Right. I’m coming with.”

“Great,” Donghyuck took the first step and the Alpha followed immediately, “And the broom? Is he your new friend? Want to take him along?”

Jeno stared at the tool like he only now noticed he was holding it, shook his head and rushed to put it away in the supply hut.

The way to the clearing wasn’t far, but it took a bit on two feet, so they shifted to be quicker. Donghyuck always smiled when he passed the strawberry field behind the blackberries, where Mark had been lying when he had found him. It remained a mystery how exactly he had ended up there, but Donghyuck wasn’t that curious anymore. He was just happy that he had.

He didn’t bother shifting back, the air probably being too cold, so he just trampled the grass and turned a few times before finding it to his satisfaction to lie down on. Jeno was less picky about his bed and flopped down half on top of Donghyuck.

It was warm and nice and peaceful until the scent of the other two young Alphas reached Donghyuck’s nose. A second later, a growl ripped through the clearing and Donghyuck internally sighed very deeply as another body landed on top of them, snapping his jaws at Jeno.

Donghyuck let the two roll off him and try to best each other, tumbling over the clearing. He spotted Mark’s grey wolf watching and thanked nature once more for peaceful Omega instincts as he found a new place to chill, the growling lulling him to a peaceful half-awake state.

The third night of his heat, Renjun insisted he was fine with only Donghyuck and the two of them huddled closely together.

He was about to nod off when a soft voice called for his attention.

“Hyuckie? Thank you. I don’t know what I was doing. My Baba actually had to slap me to snap me out of hyperventilating. It was just a lot and my brain fried, I think. If I was rude because you prefer cuddling over fighting, I’m sorry. I… I don’t know why I reacted that way.”

“Don’t be silly, I wasn’t offended. You have every right to be overwhelmed.” 

“Still. I feel dumb. It’s just… you and Jungwoo are all calm and sweet and… I’m not and I was so scared because I wouldn’t fit in, I forgot that my Baba and your Dad aren’t all that docile either. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted. I hope you’re ready to kick some ass. The boys are behaving like actual animals. We didn’t even have fighting practice and I was just looking for someone to tan in the sun with, but they kept being territorial idiots because I smell of your pheromones. Especially Jaemin. But even Jeno was annoying. Actually, Mark wasn’t that bad, though he normally is first in line to behave like a complete moron,” Donghyuck snickered.

“Yeah, but normally it’s your pheromones and not mine,” Renjun gently explained.

“So? It’s still Omega.”

Renjun didn’t answer and instead yawned loudly.

Donghyuck ignored the small jump his heart made at the idea that Mark might react differently to him, might be more attuned to his pheromones.

Because one of Donghyuck’s best-kept secrets was how Mark’s rut affected him much more than Jeno’s and Jaemin’s. With the spicy ginger so potent in the air, it took all his will not to sneak into the tent and curl up against him, looking for the protection and safety that the scent promised so strongly.

The Alphas remained weird for two whole days after Renjun finished his heat. They weren’t even holding back during duelling but just sloppy in their techniques like their heads were all the way up in the clouds.

It was the first time in Donghyuck’s life that he actually won against Jeno, just like that, without whoever was training them pushing him to do better or Jeno secretly holding back. Jeno didn’t even seem offended, which was just _very_ concerning. He got Renjun had smelt like a sugar punch right to the face, but to this degree?

Renjun finally snapped on day three when Jaemin fell over his own feet in clumsiness. He kicked him in his crotch before yelling that if he couldn’t man up, he wouldn’t need any of those lower organs for reproduction anyway because no Omega would let an Alpha that pathetic mate them.

After that, they all seemed to finally go back to normal. Well, Jeno and Jaemin were still like trained pets, but that _was_ normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He finally presented ~~ and Donghyuck is still oblivious lol
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	7. Chapter 7 – The Seventeenth Summer

Donghyuck smacked his lips as he rolled over, his back hot from the sun. It was time for his tummy now. He needed an even tan. His shoulder knocked into Mark’s thigh and Donghyuck considered scooting aside, but he really couldn’t be bothered.

“Hyuck, your shoulder is digging into my leg, did you notice?” Mark muttered, voice strained. Donghyuck blinked one eye open to see the Alpha struggling with the blanket he was knitting.

Or… trying to knit. Maybe they could use it as a fishing net?

“Yeah, I noticed your leg was real uncomfortable and in my way, why?”

“Oh, I was wondering if maybe you would move or something, guess not.”

“Hm, yeah, you guessed right,” Donyhuck hummed, closing his eyes again. He was joking. Yes, Mark’s thigh was hard, as was most of his body, but he was still warm and smelt nice, so Donghyuck would deal with a little hardness.

“Hey, Hyuck, since you woke up, can you help me? I think I went wrong somewhere,” Jaemin whined.

Donghyuck sighed, blinking his eyes open again. The struggle was real today. That had been one excellent nap, he had dreamt of swimming in a river of apple sauce…

“Probably the moment you stood up today, but okay, how can I help you?” he asked, slowly pushing himself up.

Jaemin had a pout on, looking miserable, and held up his blanket.

There were two huge ladders in it, ruining it even worse than the holes from inconsistent thread tension in Mark’s. Donghyuck couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Please, Hyuck, you know Taeil’s so strict with this,” Jaemin continued whining.

Donghyuck understood and he did feel bad for them. He had gotten himself taken off hunting training, but hunting was a team effort while cloth making was something everyone had to do for themselves. Or convince others to do it for them.

So, there was no escaping the training.

“Pass it over, you dropped at least two stitches at some point or another.”

“Can you fix it?” Jaemin blinked his puppy eyes. Donghyuck knew this was how he got his fathers to do whatever he asked them to.

“What do you take me for? Some noob? Of course, I can. But it’ll cost you.” Donghyuck grinned. He wasn’t Taeyong or Jaehyun. He wouldn’t just give in.

Jaemin wrinkled his nose in displeasure “What do you want?”

Donghyuck pursed his lips, tapping his chin. There were a few things Jaemin had that he wanted, but he could also get out of duties he didn’t like. “Hm. So many options.”

Before Donghyuck could ask for outrageous payments for something that was actually no big deal for him because he knitted in his sleep, Chenle suddenly burst through the trees. The small wolf shifted and stumbled forward, face full of worry, breathing heavily.

“Mark!” he choked out before bursting into tears. Donghyuck immediately dropped Jamin’s blanket as all three of them rushed over to the 11-seasons-old, who was sobbing.

Jeno might complain about his brother but the truth was, every single person in the pack had a weak spot for the tiny puppy.

“I… we… Jisung… I didn’t mean to… everyone will be so angry… it’s all my fault… please you have to help me find him!”

Donghyuck looked at the other two in confusion. Judging by their furrowed brows and puzzled faces, they had no idea what Chenle had tried to tell them either.

“Take a deep breath, Lele,” Donghyuck advised and the puppy started gasping in and out hurriedly, “Calm, slow, okay, breathe in until I have counted to four and then breathe out until I’ve counted to eight. One, two, three, four, yes, good job, five, six, seven, eight. And again. One, two, three, four…”

Donghyuck kept counting and Chenle quickly calmed down, breathing evening out and finally explained what had him so upset.

“Jisung and I were playing hide and seek behind the rosehip hedge because it looked so much fun and I said I could totally track him down, but… I can’t and I called for him, but he didn’t answer and we said we’d meet before the sun touched the tightest treetops and it has, but he never returned and it’s all my fault because I couldn’t track him and now he’s lost, maybe eaten by mountain wolves, and it’ll be my fault and then I won’t have a best friend anymore.”

New tears spilt from Chenle’s eyes and Donghyuck threw Mark a worried glance.

The rosehip hedge was the edge where the two puppies were allowed to go, so they had pushed their limits, breaking the rules.

Which also had to be why Chenle was coming to them, instead of running to his father.

“You’ll get the scolding of a lifetime,” Jaemin muttered.

“I know, but it’s my fault because I said I could find him and failed, so Jisung cannot get into trouble over this. Please, help me, I need to find him!” Chenle hiccupped.

“It’s really not good to push further than you’re allowed. But I guess you know that yourselves, I’ll leave the scolding to your parents. Let’s focus on finding Jisung and hope he just got lost,” Mark muttered, worry on his face.

Donghyuck’s stomach knotted.

He was annoyed with Jisung most of the time, but he was still his little brother and the chance that his life might be in danger made him almost throw up.

“Chenle, you stay here. Don’t move until the sun is completely down. If we aren’t back by then, you have to tell the adults. Jaemin, we should split up behind the hedge. Donghyuck…. Maybe…”

“I need to come with you, please, Mark!” Donghyuck pleaded. He was terrible at tracking, as well as unpractised, but he needed to try and find his little brother.

“Fine. But stick with me then,” Mark agreed.

Donghyuck nodded, blinking quickly so the tears would disappear.

Mark was fast. Donghyuck couldn’t even try and get a whiff, busy keeping up and not stumbling over roots. The two Alphas had gone different directions after they had jumped over the hedge, trying to get a trail.

Tracking a puppy was more difficult than tracking a presented wolf because they didn’t have their own scent yet, just smelling faintly of their parents.

And by how Mark was darting around, Donghyuck guessed he hadn’t gotten a track yet.

He looked up at the sky. The sun was not as strong anymore, slowly starting to set.

Was Jisung worried? Scared? Had he realised he was lost? He had to if he and Chenle had decided to meet up in case he failed to find him. He had to be scared. Or maybe he had gotten attacked.

Sure, their border was well protected and there were patrols all day and night, but it wasn’t impossible to get past the patrol and quickly attack a puppy…

Jisung was still so small and young, inexperienced. He had only started to go on hunting training…

Suddenly, Donghyuck got a hint of Jisung’s mixed scent and yipped, getting Mark’s attention, who halted and came back to where the Omega had stopped in his tracks.

He sniffed, obviously struggling to pick it up as it was so faint. Donghyuck tried to figure out where it was coming from, but he only was able to pick it up in one spot. But he knew the scent of his parents better than any other, even Mark’s, as it had promised safety when he was a tiny puppy and hadn’t even known Mark yet.

The Alpha was still trying to get on track and the moment he did, he was heading forward, deeper into the bushes, nose on the ground, following a clear line rather than going all over the place as he had done before when he had been looking for the scent.

Donghyuck followed him, a beacon of hope in his chest.

The forest was getting darker and Mark picked up the pace, the scent finally getting strong enough for Donghyuck to smell it, too. He knew they were far from the camp, getting closer to the Western border.

There was light howling and Donghyuck caught up to run side by side with Mark now, the grey wolf noticeably bigger than himself, having to dodge more low branches under which Donghyuck easily fit beneath.

They came to a stop on the edge of a slope. Donghyuck had never been to this part of their territory before and someone less careful might have missed the edge…

As Jisung obviously had. Donghyuck looked down to find his brother at the bottom of the pit, looking up, both front paws pressed to the steep walls, but still much too far down to get out of it by himself.

Donghyuck let his fur melt away into skin and leaned over the edge to holler down: “Are you an actual idiot? Do you have any clue how worried I… we were? And Chenle?”

The puppy whined, baring his throat but escaping the situation by not shifting. Sneaky little bastard.

“How do we get him out of there?” Donghyuck asked, worry still lacing his voice as he eyed the steep and smooth walls that surrounded the pit.

“If I go down there and we have him shift, push him up on my shoulders, you’ll be able to pull him up,” Mark analysed and Donghyuck snapped his head to the side.

“Great, so you’ll be stuck down there? Brilliant! More of this, please!”

Mark shrugged, “It’s not that high. I’ll be able to get out.”

“Are you blind? This is not the time to show off.”

But the Alpha was already shifting back and easily slid down into the hole. Donghyuck stared after him with an open mouth.

He didn’t have time to think about Alphas being knuckleheads. Mark made Jisung shift and pushed him Donghyuck’s direction by putting him on his shoulders, exactly how he had suggested.

He managed to catch his brother’s hand and with some difficulty pulled the puppy up to safety.

“Great, Mark, now that you’re stuck down there, should I get Yukhei or something?” Donghyuck asked, leaning over the edge to see Mark grin.

“No need,” And with that, he took a few steps backwards, then pushed himself off the ground and used his speed as leverage to run up the slightly less steep lowest part of the wall, jumped up and managed to grab onto the ledge, pulling himself up in one smooth motion.

Donghyuck stared dumb-founded as Mark brushed off the dirt from his hands.

The Alpha looked down at him, a smug grin on.

“Told you I could get out.”

“Show-off,” Donghyuck snorted, but he couldn’t help feel his stomach flutter.

That had actually been… very impressive.

Jisung and Chenle didn’t dodge the scolding because of Chenle’s tear-streaked face and Jisung’s still quite pale complexion. They both admitted to venturing far past where they were allowed to go and Donghyuck felt bad for his brother for the first time.

Not only had he gone through half an evening of both his fathers scolding him, explaining why it was dangerous and reckless to go so far from the safety of the camp, and then scolding some more before hugging him tight because they had worried, but he also had a full three moon cycles of dish-duty.

Which was nice at the same time because then Donghyuck didn’t have to do any dishes. But still. A whole three moons was rough.

The situation was mainly overshadowed by Donghyuck’s mind replaying how Mark just easily had gotten himself up that wall and the smirk he had worn after. His heart just wouldn’t stop picking up its beat whenever he recalled it and his face heated up a little.

“So, should I be getting myself some snacks, or…” Renjun asked, raising an eyebrow.

Donghyuck snapped around, whining loudly. It was getting late, late enough that they were planning to sleep, but all he could do was roll around and try to chase the image of Mark out of his head.

Renjun rolled his eyes and tackled him to the ground in a hug. He was like Mark, hardly ever initiating skin-ship, so Donghyuck tried to hold still and enjoy the rare moment. Renjun’s heat was just coming to a close and his pheromones still were stronger than normal.

“I don’t even know. I just get these unbidden thoughts of…” Donghyuck breathed out slowly, lowering his voice, “Mark.”

“Oho!” Renjun sounded much more interested than Donghyuck would have expected. “You finally admit to it!”

“What are you talking about?” Donghyuck pouted.

Renjun rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Come on, are you kidding? I mean, we’re all close, obviously, but it’s like Mark’s world revolves around you and you’re the only one who doesn’t notice. It’s clear as daylight, but you’re wearing a scarf wrapped over your eyes. On the other hand, it’s like Mark is the nest and you’re the bird that always returns to it, with how much you’re clinging to him.”

Donghyuck snorted.

“His world doesn’t revolve around me. And I cling to you all. I never noticed.”

“Exactly, you didn’t. But that doesn’t make it any less true. But the most obvious thing should be that you literally called him ginger wolf from the moment you met him. You were six. You shouldn’t have been able to smell anything from him, yet you did. And now that we’re presented, I can tell there’s an undertone of ginger in his scent.”

Donghyuck shrugged, but his mind started racing.

There had always been that small thought, the one that wanted to believe in fairy tales, that had told him that there was more to that.

But no one else ever spoke about it, so he thought he was just being delusional.

“You cannot tell anyone about this!” Donghyuck suddenly warned, eyes wide.

Renjun giggled, rolling onto his side, “Don’t worry. Your so-called secret is safe with me. This was just what I needed, seriously, being in heat is the literal worst, I was dying of boredom today and even missed the drama of the season.”

“You really did. I’m still wondering what Doyoung and Kun gave Chenle as punishment. Moon, I felt bad for Jisung, kinda, but I feel terrible for Chenle. He’s so adorable and he was sobbing so much.”

“You’re too soft.”

“You’re mean.”

There was a long moment of silence before Donghyuck whispered. “Do you really think Mark and me could be destined mates? Isn’t it just something from fairy tales?”

“Most things in fairy tales came from somewhere, didn’t they? I don’t think it’s impossible.”

Donghyuck fell asleep with a smile on his face that night.

However, the next morning, his smile was gone when he saw the three wolves by the fire.

Their coats were grey!

Immediately, Donghyuck looked for the only grey wolf their pack had, but Mark was nowhere to be found. He knew he didn’t have patrol, so where was he? Worry gnawed in his gut, but his Dad had found him and pulled him away. He tried to resist and keep looking for Mark, but his Dad’s grip on his was unforgiving and he was forced to stumble along.

“Who are they?” Donghyuck snarled. 

Were they here to take Mark back?

Would he leave?

Or were they here to harm them?

“What’s with that tone, Donghyuck?”

“Sorry,” Donghyuck tried to catch another glance of the visitors he had no appreciation for, but it was blocked, he was effectively hidden – and so were they.

“They’re a delegation from the pack living north of us. They’re here to discuss the rights over the northern hunting grounds. Allegedly.”

“Allegedly? Dad, let me go, I’m not a baby!”

Too bad he had caught up in height but never in strength. He found himself manoeuvred into the puppy tent, where Jisung and Chenle were already moping.

“You’re a puppy, Donghyuck, I will not let you risk your neck especially after what happened yesterday!” Jisung was thrown a stern glance and sunk into himself.

“But dad, they look like Mark, don’t they?” Donghyuck tried to avoid being pushed to the ground like the puppy he, admittedly, was.

“They do, which is why we need to be extra careful.”

“But dad, where is Mark, I need to…”

Donghyuck was pushed down rather forcefully.

“I will get Mark right after. Donghyuck, listen, I want you to stay safe! You’re my baby and it would kill me to see you get hurt, do you understand that?” his dad’s blue eyes were earnest and Donghyuck swallowed down whatever words he had been about to say.

“Okay,” he mumbled and sank into himself.

Were they here because of Mark after all?

“Are you going to cry? You’re so lame.”

“I will fuck you up, Jisung, I swear to the big oak!” Donghyuck wasn’t usually one to pick fights, but he was up and launching himself at that little terror of a brother of his within the blink of an eye and took him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dududummmm
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	8. Chapter 8 – The Seventeenth Autumn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone who was ready to suffer will be severely disappointed lol this isn’t Heaven AU :D

In summer, their pack had lost half of their northern hunting grounds. Lost wasn’t the right word, they had given them up to help the pack in the north out after lengthy discussions with them. It wasn’t good. They had only given them up because there hadn’t been much of a choice against a bigger pack if they didn’t want to fight. No one had wanted a fight over land when they could manage without. The price to pay for battle was great. But now they had considerably less game to hunt.

With the winter coming closer, everyone was a bit tense. They didn’t yet know how it would go and they didn’t know if the other pack would share if they needed to, how it had been agreed upon.

Apart from those worries not passing him, Donghyuck had his typical autumn sadness as the leaves turned from green to different shades of yellow to red. Only worse than normal. This had been their last summer together, all five of them. Come winter, Mark would turn 18 and count as an adult officially in spring.

They still didn’t know when his birthday was, but Mark remembered it being in winter. So, his Appa had decided to choose winter solstice as his given birthday because it was an important day.

Sure, he’d still be there, but somehow the thought of spending even a moment less with the Alpha made Donghyuck inexplicably upset.

His thoughts kept returning to what Renjun had said: the destined mates.

Had Mark ever thought of that?

As an adult, he could officially get mated. Theoretically speaking, he could look for unmated Omegas with other packs.

Mark had come from somewhere. That somewhere wasn’t far away and the people who used to be his home had been here. It wouldn’t even be difficult, on the contrary. The other pack might appreciate it if Mark, a skilled Alpha, would get mated to one from their pack. It could improve the relations, maybe help to agree to permanently share the hunting grounds rather than give them up and get support in emergencies. The idea, that he might return there, wouldn’t leave Donghyuck alone.

He didn’t know what to call the feeling he got at the thought that Mark could like someone and want to mate with them, but it made him both angry and lonely at the same time. He didn’t like it.

On the other hand, none of them had really talked about courting. He talked about it with Renjun, sometimes, but they never dropped any names. It was too awkward. There was an uneven number of Alphas and Donghyuck was still confused if he even wanted to get mated in the first place, Renjun being even more undecided, leaning towards no thank you.

With Yukhei and Jungwoo it had seemed much easier, natural.

Donghyuck stared at the shirt in his hands, needle hovering, not having moved for minutes. The work hut was quiet, only Kun repairing clothes close but not too close to Donghyuck.

This was not happening. Donghyuck folded it up and put it away in the chest of his parents to go and find Mark. He needed to cuddle him and maybe complain a little. If Mark was unavailable, he’d got and find his Appa. But honestly, he was his second choice.

Mark was chopping wood with Jeno, but judging by the stacks, they were almost done.

The Alpha flashed him a smile and Donghyuck wrapped his coat tighter around him, deciding to wait.

“Hey, Hyuck, have you seen Jaemin? He was supposed to be helping here,” Jeno asked.

“No, I was in the working hut with only Kun.”

“That lazy ass. I bet he helped his Dad hang up clothing to tell us he had some prior commitment,” Jeno whined, picking up the wood that had fallen off the chopping stump as Mark wiggled the axe and pulled it back out where it had embedded itself into it.

“We’ll just make him do all the chopping next time,” Mark suggested and Jeno nodded grimly.

Donghyuck found his eyes fixed to where Mark’s biceps were straining under the long-sleeved, simple shirt. The Alpha was sweating, his hair stuck to his forehead a little, and the shirt darker in some places, clinging onto his body.

The axe came down and Donghyuck snapped out of his stupor. Wow, what was he doing? He had seen arms before, hadn’t he? In fact, he had seen all of Mark, countless times. It was inevitable when you shifted back and forth and had to wash yourself. Yay for personal hygiene.

Though, admittedly, ever since he had started thinking more about Mark’s scent, he had sometimes… noticed things about the Alpha. Like now.

By the time the two were finished and Donghyuck had even helped stack up the wood, the sun was already setting. It always set so early in this season. Donghyuck hated it.

“You look down. Autumn sadness?” Mark asked softly when Donghyuck handed him his warmer sweater so he wouldn’t get cold.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck returned, putting on a pout and opening his arms. Mark laughed and complied, pulling him into a warm hug. He sometimes did that now. Donghyuck nuzzled against his neck, the comfort of Mark’s scent washing over him.

“Aren’t you on cooking duty?” Mark asked softly. Donghyuck nodded, not moving to let go. The Alpha chuckled, the movement from it vibrating right against Donghyuck’s chest.

“Mark?”

“Hm?”

“Are you going to court someone next spring? Like… maybe from your old pack or something?” Donghyuck whispered, clinging a little tighter to the Alpha.

“What?” Mark choked, “No. Definitely not. I’m not going to court anyone from… there. How did you even get that idea?”

“Because you’ll be an adult and stuff. I was just thinking. I don’t really know much about your old pack, so I thought maybe…”

Mark hummed, “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I used to be really angry, sad maybe, because of them. But if you’re curious, I could tell you about them, so you knew that I would never return to them. Ever.”

“I’d really like that. Maybe after dinner?”

“Sure. And don’t worry, I’ll wait for you, with the courting I mean.”

“Bold of you to assume I’ll be courting anyone. But I appreciate the thought,” Donghyuck cackled before finally letting go of Mark to head for the fireplace.

He missed Mark looking after him, half-smile on, and Jeno shaking his head where he was pulling the cover over the firewood.

Much later into the evening, Donghyuck was wrapped in a ridiculous number of blankets, claiming this autumn was especially cold. Mark was judging but let himself be added to the cocoon. For body heat. They were half-hiding between the food supply hut and the frames for skins, with just enough light from the fire, but no one close enough to listen in. Most wolves were in their tents already, fleeing the cold night air.

But Renjun would tear Mark’s throat out, just like any unmated Alpha’s that found their way into their tent past sun-down, and Jeno and Jaemin would be in the Alpha hut, so there was nowhere to flee inside.

“So?” Donghyuck asked, once settled.

“So,” Mark cleared his throat awkwardly, “This is actually kind of weird. I only ever talked about this once.”

“To whom?”

“Johnny. He wanted to know because he wanted to rule out that I was dangerous,” Mark smiled. Donghyuck knew he held a deep respect for his Appa. It was sweet.

“Okay, well, I’m obviously much easier to talk to, so – fire away!” Donghyuck teased, cocking his head.

Mark rolled his eyes and Donghyuck never dropped the saccharine smile, “So. My pack actually lived behind the mountains. Or lives, I guess, they’re probably still there. I wouldn’t know. I don’t remember that much. But things were very, very different there. For one, I know there was no such thing as mates. It just… changed who was with whom. My father was part of the soldiers of the pack, but a lower one. I clearly remember that. Because his status was lower, mine automatically was, too, until I might earn a higher one.

“I wasn’t raised by my parents anyway, but there were three old Omegas who raised all the puppies. They wanted us to be hard and cold. We slept outside, without blankets, even in the winter. But since I didn’t know anything else, I was never bothered.

“But the winter… the last winter I was with them, had been hard and long, not wanting to end in the pack’s territory. They said the Moon goddess had to be upset with them. The only way to soothe her was by sacrificing the blood of a puppy,” Mark laughed coldly.

“Who’s the Moon goddess?” Donghyuck asked, a sinking feeling in his chest like he already knew where this was going.

“Oh, I was surprised you never mentioned her. But where I’m from, we had a priestess, who said she could talk to her. The Moon goddess is… like this higher power, who watched over my pack. I guessed she only cared about my old pack at first because here we don’t have a priest or priestess. But since you don’t have any goddess at all, maybe, the priestess just made her up so people would listen to her. I’m not sure.”

Donghyuck frowned. He knew there were higher powers. The moon, the sun, the seasons, storms, rain and snow, that all had to come from somewhere. But he had assumed those forces worked for themselves, minding their own business, which was why his letter had never been answered and winter not cancelled. The idea they’d talk to them, but no other packs… wouldn’t that be unfair? Not to mention – why should they bother about a pack in the first place, so small in comparison to how big the moon and the sun were?

“They wanted someone who was strong, but not too strong, so they wouldn’t waste someone who could give them more land in the future. At the same time, not someone the Moon goddess would think was too weak, not wanting to make her even more upset. I was average and unimportant, the son of nobody. It was perfect.

“I was so scared. I didn’t want to upset the Moon goddess, but I also didn’t want to die. So, when I was left in the woods, I worked through the restraints the priestess had put on me and ran before they came to slaughter me the next morning. Would I ever return, I have no doubt they’d just finish what they didn’t back then.

“Not to mention that I wouldn’t want to leave any one of you here. This pack, the warmth and kindness everyone has shown me, I wouldn’t want to lose it for anything in the world. I wouldn’t want to lose you. I was sure I would die in the strawberries, back then. All other packs had chased me away and then I had gotten hurt being careless.

“I thought you were some kind of god at first, too. Maybe the god of strawberries because you smell of them,” Mark chuckled. Donghyuck’s throat was closed, but he still managed to snap back:

“Yeah, here to punish you for bleeding out in my beautiful strawberry bed, duh.”

“I can see you doing that. Still. You saved my life and you not only saved it but made it so much better, too. So… I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for that.”

Donghyuck was busy blinking tears away, his face hot.

“Aw, Markie, of course. You know me – compassionate and selfless any day of the moon.”

Mark smiled at him, not commenting on the redness or the obvious unshed tears.

“Of course.”

Mark’s face was close, so close, and he was smiling and looking rudely handsome.

Donghyuck’s eyes lingered on his lips. If he only leaned a little closer…

“So. Since Chenle and Jisung are on laundry duty until the new moon because of the rosehip seeds in Jeno’s furs, how about we use that free time to clamp up those fox skins tomorrow?” Donghyuck asked, voice louder than necessary and a small tinge of panic to it as he quickly shot up, the furs falling from his shoulders.

What on earth had happened there just now?

Mark never helped him with the foxes, but Jeno kindly did while Mark was under tent-arrest, waiting out his rut.

Jaemin had this weird smile on when they met late morning for fighting lessons the next day. It made Donghyuck want to pinch his waist until he stopped. He was generally much more grumpy and ready to fight when Mark was in rut and thus unavailable for cuddles while smelling super inviting but being off-limits.

“You look especially ugly this morning, Nana. Will you share what has you in a good mood, so we can make fun of it and you stop being happy?” Renjun asked in a deadpan face.

“Aw, Injunnie, I’m so glad to hear you care. And, by the way, you look extra pretty in blue. Of course, I will gladly tell you!” Jaemin chirped back and Renjun started stripping off his blue sweater.

Renjun and Jaemin’s friendship had taken this weird turn, where Renjun would be teasing the Alpha so much it was almost insulting, and the Alpha would shower him in compliments, topped off with cheesy winks and smiles, in turn, which only triggered more insults and that led to more compliments.

Donghyuck wasn’t sure where this was supposed to lead, but it was very disturbing most of the time.

He looked at Jeno for help. The other Alpha proved to be the most level headed – at least until Jaemin started directing his cheesy compliments at him or something Renjun said made him return to the trained pet-behaviour that the two had had when they were younger. This, too, was very disturbing.

“Can you be normal for once?” Jeno sighed deeply, “And Jaemin, I don’t think Mark would appreciate you blabbing on about this.”

“Since when are we protecting Mark’s privacy?” Donghyuck asked, genuinely surprised because he knew way too much about every one of his friends as was. It was just normal to share every last detail, right?

Sure, Mark was older, but no one had ever made a difference and gladly not because creating such a distance was something Donghyuck had worried would happen when he had first presented and had kind of left them behind. He wouldn’t stand for that suddenly happening now! Not on his watch!

Jeno’s cheeks started colouring a soft pink and Jaemin cackled behind his hand.

“I felt like… it was appropriate.”

Renjun and Donghyuck frowned, sending each other a glance.

Maybe today was one of the days he’d best just ignore the existence of Alphas in general and Jaemin and Jeno in particular?

“Yeah, well, everyone’s gonna know in a day anyway, so I might as well get the joy of spilling it: Mark’s officially an adult now,” Jaemin smirked as if that made literally any sense.

The Omegas shared another look, understanding each other without needing words. Definitely, a day to ignore Alphas.

Donghyuck managed to almost win over Jaemin later, putting his all into the fight for once while Jaemin was overwhelmed with immaturity and giggling. Sicheng had this very proud look on his face that made him feel even better about it.

But by the time it was getting dark and he was snuggled against Renjun in their tent, the bad autumn-and-Mark-less mood had made its way back, leaving him with nightmares of getting lost in the woods.

Needless to say, he was even more on edge the next day and every time he passed the Alphas’ tent it got worse as his instincts called out to him to just go and see Mark, let him make him feel better.

Of course, that was out of the question.

It hadn’t taken long for him to find out, against his will, that what Jaemin and Jeno had been behaving like idiots over was that Mark had matured physically, meaning, he was now able to knot, physically able to mate.

Donghyuck didn’t know what to do with that knowledge. It made him both incredibly embarrassed, because it was kind of personal, curious, because, well, he did know about knotting and mating thanks to his Dad, but that was all theoretical knowledge, and nervous.

Would this change Mark somehow?

He knew the adults had checked with Mark to make sure he was doing fine and no instinct overwhelming him. Donghyuck also knew they had a closer eye on him and Renjun, too, just in case, which made the whole ordeal even more embarrassing and weird.

He let his aggressive energy out on unsuspecting leathers, rubbing the fur off them so furiously Doyoung asked him if he planned to rub right through the skin.

And like that, the most annoying days of his life passed somehow, much too slowly, but at least it was over now.

The Alphas were still behaving like puppies, pretending to clean the path Mark was walking on when he returned to sewing classes for the first time.

Donghyuck noticed the flush on his cheeks, so he just pushed Jaemin out of his way and hooked his arm over Mark’s neck.

If he didn’t change anything, nothing would change, right?

Mark threw him the prettiest thankful smile and proceeded to struggle through the whole lesson, managing to make something… halfway decent to wear.

Nothing felt different than normal apart from what hadn’t felt the same for a long time: noticing things about Mark, getting his eyes stuck on the Alpha, weird heart fluttering.

But Donghyuck knew how to handle that: ignore it, not acknowledge it, until it went away.

A brilliant plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	9. Chapter 9 – The Seventeenth Winter and Spring, The Eighteenth Summer

“I swear to the sun, I will rip Jaemin’s stupid head off. I am doing it! You will all thank me later!” Renjun growled and Donghyuck calmly held the Omega back with an arm around his chest.

“How about you take a nice, calming breath for now. Breath in and when you breathe out, you let all your worries disappear into the air with it.”

“Do you want to get your head ripped off, too? Because I’m doing it!” Renjun hissed and Donghyuck sighed, not letting go of the smaller.

If Renjun actually wanted to get away, he could. To overpower Donghyuck was child’s play to him. But he didn’t.

Jungwoo had been watching them with a raised eyebrow for some time now, silently laying soft branches around each other without even watching as the basket he was weaving got bigger and bigger. He had the bundle of his puppy strapped to his front, but Kunhang seemed to be asleep and quiet. Finally, the Omega chimed in: “What did my brother do now?”

Renjun huffed and finally plopped onto the ground. The Alphas were probably long gone, Mark having dragged away a cackling Jaemin and a frozen Jeno when Renjun had started to get ticked off for real.

“He’s flirting!” Donghyuck announced like he had figured that out on his own. In reality, his Dad had watched Jaemin shamelessly be himself, giving out compliments to everyone, especially to Jeno and Renjun, wink and smile at them, one evening and said that it was cute how Jaemin was flirting with all of them.

Donghyuck hadn’t realised that was what he was doing. It also didn’t bother him, he just rolled along, sometimes joining in. It didn’t feel that deep, like Jaemin was just being nice, rather than trying to get anywhere with his comments. At least the ones he directed at Donghyuck. Jeno always had the best reactions, panic clear on his face, no matter how many times it happened, Mark seemed a bit confused or overly flattered, and Renjun got worked up like a spring under pressure.

“Oh, yeah, I know, but he has been doing that for almost a full cycle of seasons now.” Jungwoo nodded, eying them, still curious.

“That doesn’t make it any less fucking annoying and dumb. I mean: he’s literally flirting with everyone? How about he makes up his mind if he’s interested in Mark, Jeno, Hyuckie, or me? Wait, no, not me, ew, I don’t want him,” Renjun complained, pulling a face.

Jungwoo bit his lips, trying to hold back a smile but failing. “Right. I’ll make sure to tell him that his tactic is maybe making you jealous, but doesn’t appear to be working how he might want it to.”

“I’m not… Jungwoo! Stay here! I’m not jealous, let me go Hyuck, I am not jealous because Jaemin is being a little shit! I don’t even like him. Especially not like that!”

And Jaemin’s flirting stopped. For exactly three nights. Though Donghyuck wasn’t there to see it because he was down with his heat, which left him sweaty, restless, and whiny, more with each that came and went, seemingly trying to make him more miserable every time. What a fun concept. Mother nature had been so generous when she had decided to give wolves heats.

“Do you think he hates me?” Renjun asked after retelling what had happened that day. Donghyuck had only really listened to the parts about Mark, but Jaemin’s behaviour did strike him as weird, even having only listened to half of it.

He rolled over to avoid the hot spot that had built under him. At least his heat meant he wasn’t freezing all the time. The small blessings…

“Nah. Shouldn’t you be glad he stopped? You were the one complaining.”

“Yeah, I know but… I think I already got kind of used to it.”

Donghyuck couldn’t hold back a big smirk, “You miss not being told how beautiful you are? How great and talented and wonderful? ‘Oh, Injunnie, you look particularly handsome in that colour today. It compliments your beautiful eyes.’ ‘Wow, Injunnie, that move was so impressive, I – argh”

Donghyuck was muffled, his poor imitations turning into hysterical laughter.

“Fuck, you’re burning up!”

“Tell me something I don’t know. I just want to die at this point.”

“Is there anything I can do to make it better?” Renjun started rubbing Donghyuck’s hair, which felt wonderful.

“Yeah. Do that. And then knock me out for two days, thank you.”

“I will not pull the wrath of the pack leader and Mark onto myself,” Renjun giggled while Donghyuck started whining about unreliable friends.

“Say, Injun... I was totally not thinking about anyone in particular, but I was just wondering… courting demands the Alpha to begin, but… if I theoretically had decided I didn’t find the idea of mating as repulsive as I originally thought anymore. How would I signal that?”

“This isn’t some age-old fairy tale where the Omega has to be proper and quiet. I think you should just tell Mark.”

“Yeah, but what if he really wasn’t interested? It’d be so embarrassing.”

“You know what’s embarrassing? The fact that both of you still think the other isn’t as head-over-heels for you. Even your parents know, for moon’s sake.”

“My parents?” Donghyuck paled at the idea of his Appa and Dad… oh please no, “I never said I was interested in Mark anyway.”

“Continue like this and I will knock you out for two days, no matter the consequences.”

Two days later, when Donghyuck was back among the living, Jaemin was back to flirting, only he focussed on just Jeno and Renjun now.

And Renjun was back to fuming and Jeno back to blushing.

So, Donghyuck decided it was much too cold to deal with any of that and instead helped Mark with the knitting.

“I’m not going to miss this,” Mark grumbled as the bundle of wool rolled from his lap. Donghyuck caught it and put it back there.

“I’m also not going to miss watching you struggle with your fishnets,” He sighed, face serious.

“Come on, this is a sweater!” Mark whined and put down the needles in disappointment. “I’m just going to un-do it and we never speak of it again, okay?”

“But what will you give Taeil then?” Donghyuck cackled as he finished another row on his own work and adjusted the needles that held the stitches he was leaving out for the braid pattern.

“Oh, man,” Mark closed his eyes in desperation.

“Guys, can someone else tell Renjun that he’s very objectively speaking the most beautiful person with three parents in this pack?”

“You know what? I’ll go to the Omega tent to finish this, I can’t with your bullshit today,” Renjun picked up his stitching and was out the opening flap in a minute.

“Well, I would have confirmed that, but what can you do?” Donghyuck shrugged and turned his work, having finished another row.

“Why won’t he accept my love? Why don’t you accept my love, Jeno?” Jaemin clung to the other Alpha, who was already flushed in the face, but got impossibly redder.

“Stop joking, Nana.”

When the snow was gone and the sun finally gained power, Mark was officially added to the Hunters. Yukhei had enthusiastically slapped his back as a greeting until Mark had started coughing so badly Donghyuck had wondered if he was going to choke.

He hadn’t.

At first, it really sucked that Mark was missing from the lessons, but he was around a lot more than Donghyuck had feared. Maybe the reason that it had seemed so different when it had been Yukhei and Jungwoo was because the age difference was bigger and he had tried to avoid his brother, in the first place.

But whenever Donghyuck was looking for cuddling and reassurance, he could always find Mark. They often sat together in the work tent, Mark working on leathers or wood, and Donghyuck plus the other three working on their homework.

And then, spring weather turned… bad.

At first, it was just dark clouds, promising rain that nature needed to grow into full blossom. But the clouds started looking like thunderstorm clouds and it was too early for those. And then, they started to not even look like those anymore, pitch black, like the night, the sun behind them making them shine almost purple.

“We’re getting a storm, a bad one, I’m afraid,” His Appa announced over the clearing where most of the pack had gathered, “There won’t be any patrols once the rain starts, so we can make sure we keep each other safe. Our safety has priority over our territory now. I believe every other pack will do the same.”

Storms sometimes happened. Donghyuck remembered two, one of which so long ago, he had been too little to understand and clung to his Dad all night while the wind had howled over the supply hut in which they were waiting for it to pass.

The other one had been four summers ago and made chopping wood easier because the wind had ripped down so many trees. That one hadn’t been bad. Looking around the adults’ serious faces, Donghyuck was a bit scared of what was to come now.

“We’ll take down all the tents and put them in the supply hut. Anything that can fly away has to be buried or weighted down,” His Appa added next “Because there’s only so much room in the hut. We’ll get started right away, so we’ll be finished by the time it hits.”

Donghyuck knew how to take the tent down, they had to repair it from time to time. During winter months, additional layers of leathers were added to make it keep the warmth better.

He and Renjun worked in silence, quickly wrapping the poles and skins together tightly, so they’d take away as little room as possible, before stacking them into the supply hut. Their furs were put in a pile – everyone knew which ones belonged to whom and they’d sort them back out once the weather was back to normal.

There were many supplies and tools outside, that usually got buried in late autumn so they’d survive the winter, all of which now had to be collected and secured. They had to be fast, so they just sloppily did what would be carefully done in a normal situation. This was just an emergency. It would be over soon.

Hopefully.

The hardest part was taking down the working tent, as it was big with many things inside. They’d just have to hope the chests wouldn’t get ruined by the weather as they tied them against the sturdy wooden walls of the hut.

The rain started with thick drops, the sun long hidden behind the pitch-black clouds, and a strong and constant wind whipped over the clearing that looked empty and abandoned. A few of the pack members were already hidden in the hut while Donghyuck helped close the last holes in which the frames with skins had been put.

They finished at the same time that the three wolves who had been running patrol broke through the treeline. The rain had picked up and Donghyuck was drenched to his bones when they all shuffled into the hut.

The door was slammed shut by the wind and Donghyuck suppressed a shiver from cold and fear.

No one really slept. The wind was loud, making the walls shake from time to time and the trees outside groaned under the strength of nature, audible even over the loud splattering of the rain.

It was scary and Donghyuck jerked each time a crash announced something outside to have broken.

He was glad he wasn’t alone.

The adults kept telling stories in turns, so it was never completely quiet, and Donghyuck was nestled against his Appa on one side and Mark on the other, slipping in and out of consciousness.

When the morning came, it was over. Only the deep puddles all over the clearing and the bent trees and bushes spoke of what had happened during the night.

Everyone had been safe, their supplies had suffered minor damages, but it was easily fixable and they could soon return to life as normal, only the masses of wood they had to pull from the forest reminding them of this not having been a normal spring shower.

The actual problem only started a few weeks later: the packs that had gotten hit worse.

The first time they were attacked, Donghyuck didn’t understand what was happening. They were scrubbing laundry on the rocks when a howl, distant and soft from the outskirts of the territory, echoed over the camp.

Kun and Yuta dropped everything and herded Donghyuck and Jaemin from the water. Yuta shifted before Donghyuck had even properly comprehended the situation and suddenly, more wolves were running from the campsite, led by the notably biggest form of his Appa.

Jaemin’s fingers twitched and he looked ready to join them, but Kun had a hand on his collar in a second.

“We’re staying right here and wait. They’ll manage,” He assured and Jaemin let himself be dragged to the main fireplace, where everyone that wasn’t a designated fighter was starting to gather.

Donghyuck quickly found Jisung, who looked pale, and made sure to sit close to him. There was no Appa, no Dad, no Yukhei, and no Mark to protect them now. So, he had to be strong for his brother.

Unlike that night when they had all come together to face the storm, no one spoke, worried silence draped over the waiting wolves.

They weren’t together now and they weren’t waiting for nature to exhaust herself and calm down. Their fate was in half of the pack’s hands, but they weren’t only fighting for them all, they were also risking their lives doing so.

It was scarier than any thunderstorm, no matter how many trees that could rip from the earth as if they were matchsticks.

Despite it all, Taeyong cooked them dinner and looked after Donghyuck, Jisung, and Renjun, as their families were all gone right now.

But the most astonishing was Jungwoo. Donghyuck knew him as a soft and emotional person. With Kunhang too little to properly understand anything, but old enough to notice things were very off, he put on the strongest front and kept his puppy entertained and relaxed.

Maybe it was being a parent that made things different, Donghyuck wondered.

The sun was set by the time howls of victory reached the camp, but only when the group of wolves appeared from the trees, did Donghyuck dare to feel relief.

It happened again.

And again.

And the fourth time it happened, the only grey wolf between a pack of brown furs was smeared in too much red to be from an opponent when they returned victoriously, pushed and held up by the help of two others.

Donghyuck remembered crying.

He remembered his Dad grabbing him and pulling him away.

He remembered shaking and sobbing in fear as Mark’s limp form was carried to the medical hut and he wasn’t allowed to follow.

His Dad and Renjun kept him in the Omega tent while Doyoung and Taeyong did whatever was necessary.

It was terrifying.

No one even said Mark was still alive. They just kept telling him it would be okay and they were doing their best.

It wasn’t enough!

But Donghyuck didn’t have any skills to do anything the others couldn’t, so he just curled up and tried to remember breathing, but it was difficult.

Why?

Why Mark?

Mark couldn’t get hurt, please, no, not him!

It was as though someone had rammed a knife into his chest.

It hurt so badly and Donghyuck didn’t know how to cope. He didn’t even know why he felt this way.

Or, well, he did.

But that made it hurt even worse when he imagined Mark suffering.

If felt like an entire season had passed before, finally, Taeyong appeared in the hut and said they were finished and he was allowed to see him now.

Finally!

Donghyuck did not let himself be held back, he slipped from his Dad’s grasp and ran.

Past surprised pack members on the clearing, from one side to the other, where he flung the tent’s doors open and almost fell inside.

Mark had shifted and his shoulder was wrapped down to his elbow. He pulled his head up a bit, grey hair still matted with red, a look of surprise on his dirty face.

Weak, but alive.

ALIVE!

Donghyuck ran over to his bed, where he threw himself on the floor and started slapping his uninjured arm.

“You idiot! You can’t go and get hurt, hear me? I don’t allow it!” His tears obscured his voice, but the relief and the worry were overwhelming and Donghyuck just kept hitting the same spot over and over as more sobs ripped through his body. He only stopped to hold onto Mark, to feel him, warm and with a beating heart.

“I’m sorry, Hyuckie,” Mark weakly apologised, which made Donghyuck sob harder and cling onto him as if his life depended on it.

He could not bear the thought because, “If you die before we get mated, we won’t have a bond to last longer than a lifetime, you idiot! You are forbidden from dying!”

“I’m not dying,” Mark laughed softly.

Yes, he wasn’t. Donghyuck rubbed his thumb over his skin, warm and very much alive.

“You better not or I’ll kill you!”

“Okay.”

“I mean it! I’m a trained fighter!”

“I know.”

“Promise not to get hurt!”

“Hyuckie, I can’t promise that.”

“Well, then at least wait until after getting mated!” Donghyuck knew neither of them had ever even used the word, but it was as though he was just putting into words what would have been a matter of course, “You can do whatever then since you couldn’t get rid of me anymore, anyway,” his words were slurred as he kept hiccupping from his crying and Mark took his hand in a soothing gesture.

“Alright. So, uh, you want to, uh, get mated? You, er, want me to, uh, court you?”

“Of course I want that, you complete moron!” Donghyuck squeezed his hand so hard, Mark yelped.

“Great, that’s… yeah. I’m sorry for getting hurt, please stop crying, please don’t be sad?”

“No, you can see how you deal with that, not my problem,” Donghyuck pushed his head into Mark’s undamaged side and curled up.

He eventually nodded off on the infirmary floor holding Mark’s hand and woke up under a pelt that smelt of his Appa.

It had been more than 10 cycles of the season since Donghyuck had brought his homework to the infirmary tent to keep Mark company the first time. The good thing was, that this time he wasn’t limited to yes-or-no questions. The bad thing was, he still worried and didn’t want Mark to hurt.

He had tried to watch the Alpha’s bandages getting changed once but fled very quickly. There was too much blood and open flesh. Jeno had thrown him an understanding look but kept holding what his father needed him to.

Once, Yukhei came and gave a retelling of what exactly had happened to the curious audience consisting of Jisung, Chenle, Renjun, and Donghyuck. And Mark, because he couldn’t really go anywhere.

“So, there were twelve of them and eight of us. They wanted the Eastern hunting grounds because they are rich in game. I don’t know what happened up the mountains, but I think the prey is pretty much gone since the storm. Which is why they’re all coming to us.

“Anyway, Appa and their leader tried talking about it, but they didn’t come to an understanding since we also need the grounds and can’t give them up completely, but they wouldn’t take the smaller offer. Then, the other leader said he was going to challenge for the land, fight over it fair and square. He said they’d win because Appa came with so many Omegas who’d just be killed right away anyway. To avoid a big brawl, Appa offered a duel and the man seriously was so full of himself and said sure if Appa was sending an Omega, he’d gladly fight them. So, Sicheng took that dude out. Was pretty nasty.

“So normally, that’d mean they’d have to leave, you know? Fighting etiquette. But they didn’t and instead, all of them attacked at once. We were still outnumbered, so some tried to take us two on one. It happens and only because Mark has a bit less experience, he ended up getting one of them stuck in his shoulder. But he did really well because they were strong fighters, I definitely had trouble with mine. So it took some time until one of us could help him, but look at how he came out on top nevertheless!”

Donghyuck had worried off the upper two layers of skin on his lip, but he couldn’t help feeling a little proud Mark had kept up so well.

Still.

It was scary to imagine going one against two more experienced fighters.

It could have easily gone wrong.

So easily.

“All things considered, missing a little bit of shoulder is a win in that situation then,” Renjun concluded. Donghyuck knew it was, he also knew this was part of life, but it was scary and he wished it’d never ever happen again.

“Are you missing a bit of shoulder? Will there be a dent?” Chenle asked with wide eyes, staring at the bandages.

“No, I don’t think so. Just a small scar from battle,” Mark smiled “Like the one on Hyuckie’s cheek.”

“Oh yes, the fierce battle scar,” Donghyuck rubbed his face, recalling the time it had happened. It seemed like another lifetime. He also had serious doubts that Mark would have a scar this small. Even those from when he had gotten hurt as a puppy were bigger than Donghyuck’s.

But most of the visits were quiet. With only one hand, there wasn’t much Mark could do and his whole body was weakened from the healing taking his energy.

Donghyuck always retold whatever had happened during the day, just how he used to do so long ago with the grey wolf puppy waiting to heal.

It felt weirdly similar to that time, yet completely different.

When he got better, Doyoung let him return to the Alpha hut and normal life, but hunting and border patrol were out of the question. The only thing he was good for, with his one hand, was easy cooking tasks and helping when others needed a third hand.

Donghyuck needed lots of third hands. With laundry, with sewing, with searching and digging for food.

Luckily, no one ever pointed out that he normally did all of that on his own.

Mark’s shoulder healed within three moon cycles and soon he was allowed back to shifting and running. It was an endless relief to see that he hadn’t carried permanent damage, though the skin was still red and fresh and Donghyuck wanted to just put the Alpha back to bed and tuck him in.

He wouldn’t have let him if he had tried. Mark had way too much pent-up energy to stay in one place.

So, all that he could do was watch the Alpha dart off into the woods.

The morning after, Donghyuck almost stepped into a weasel that was in front of the Omega tent.

The scent of ginger clung to its fur, that was completely intact, save for bites on the neck.

A perfect kill.

Only for him.

To show off his skills.

To signal he’d be a good mate.

Donghyuck nearly screamed. He didn’t. However, he did almost suffocate Renjun in his quest of telling someone about what had happened.

Renjun nearly made Donghyuck into the next perfect kill, but was quickly pacified and patted his back so Donghyuck could calm down from the almost-heart-attack.

He carefully skinned the weasel to keep the fur and Mark had a dumb smile on his face all day.

“Fucking finally.” Jaemin hollered “Injunie, do you like weasel or rabbit better for me to give you?”

“Shut up, or I’ll skin you instead.”

“Ow. Jeno, what do you prefer?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe it's finally happening lol
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	10. Chapter 10 – The Eighteenth Summer, Autumn, and Winter

Donghyuck tried to soak up all the summer heat by taking his vast collection of beautiful furs, that kept growing, outside and sew them into clothing there while Renjun tried to drown Jaemin in the river.

He made sure to get a perfectly even tan while Jeno hunted down otters at the far end of their territory, having asked Donghyuck to accompany him so he wouldn’t be alone. The animals didn’t live closer to the camp and if he wanted a truly unique courting gift, he’d have to go to some lengths.

Donghyuck carefully stitched a grey wolf and ginger blossoms onto the hem of a shirt while Jaemin hummed under his breath and stretched otter-skin into a frame.

He peacefully fried rabbit for lunch while Renjun cried over how crooked his stitching looked until he decided that he was going to gift game instead because what Alphas could do, Omegas could, too.

And he secretly met up with Mark behind the supply hut between the frames in which skins dried, to stare at the stars, after the campfire was put out and quiet lay over the tents.

“Maybe there is a Moon goddess, you know? I think the moon has to be moved over the sky somehow, right?” Donghyuck whispered. He didn’t like how short the days were starting to get, but it was still warm enough to forgo the blanket.

“Hm. I don’t care as long as she doesn’t want my blood,” Mark mumbled back, rubbing his fingers over Donghyuck’s knuckles and when he looked at the Alpha, he wasn’t even looking at the sky but him instead.

“This year, I can’t wait for winter,” Mark admitted.

“Why would you say something like that? I’m going to reconsider accepting your courting efforts,” Donghyuck whined but didn’t move away.

“Because in summer, we can get mated and then nothing will ever separate us again.”

“Are you so eager to die?” Donghyuck grumbled, but his heart had somersaulted in his chest at the words

“No. But I’m eager to never let go of you again,” Mark said and slowly leaned closer, his eyes on Donghyuck’s mouth.

The Omega closed his eyes as their lips touched, soft and not as wet as he had always imagined it to be. Just… really nice. When Mark pulled away, he followed after him to get another try of it.

How had he ever thought he wouldn’t want this? Little Donghyuck had been silly.

When the leaves started to fall, Mark gifted Donghyuck a brand-new fox coat. It was stunning and soft and so, so difficult to make.

His Dad said how beautiful it looked and helped him sew in pockets in a way that wouldn’t harm it. It was still a bit warm to wear, but Donghyuck had it hung up in the Omega tent, to run his hands through the fur every morning and evening.

In turn, he gave Mark a necklace, made from pearls he had carved and painted himself using wood and colourful plants.

Donghyuck’s usual autumn sadness wasn’t as bad. Because like Mark had said, come summer, they’d be together forever. No summer had ever come without a winter and Donghyuck was excited.

“I was ready to just end things. Honestly, Mark was so annoying,” Renjun announced while Donghyuck wiggled around his blankets. He knew nesting was a thing and, sometimes, he just had to push whatever there was in the tent around to make it lie exactly how it felt right before lying down right in the middle of it. It was new and weird, but not scary.

“Have you tried a day with _you_ in heat and _Jeno and Jaemin_ on the loose? There’s two of them. **TWO**!” Donghyuck complained, recalling all those annoying fights that the two Alphas had picked with each other or others the moment they got a whiff of Renjun’s pheromones.

He was happy with his blankets and furs and now had to find the most comfortable position possible. It took a moment, but then he was fully satisfied. Renjun had waited for him to finish and flopped down next to him.

“Say, Hyuckie…” he stilled next to him, voice turning serious, “The chase… what did your Dad tell you about it?”

Donghyuck hummed and started pushing Renjun around because he was lying wrong in his nest. The other Omega just let him. He got it, his own nesting instincts had kicked in a few moons ago already and Donghyuck had fallen victim to those as well, “Well, uh, the specifics when who gets to start?”

“No. I mean what happens in the forest, you know when… that stuff happens. My Appa was so vague, so I can’t help wondering.”

“Oh, you mean the claiming?”

“Yeah,” Renjun was blushing a soft pink now.

“Well, since you’ll be in heat, my Dad said you’ll run until you find a good place to nest, which is why we get a head-start or the Alpha would be on our backs within two seconds. So, yeah, you build a nest, I guess, and wait, and when your Alpha finds you, they’ll like…” Donghyuck tried to recall what exactly his Dad had told him, “You have sex. I don’t have to explain that, do I? I’m sure it’s not that difficult to figure out how to make part A go into part B, right? That’s what heat is for, anyway. And when you’re done and knotted, you should claim each other. Finished.”

“Don’t you think it hurts?” Renjun whispered, eyes wide, “I mean, not that I was looking, but I couldn’t help notice that things are sort of… big? Plus the knot?”

Donghyuck frowned “If it hurt, they wouldn’t sell it like something super-great, right? Remember when we were trying to get Yukhei to beat out the rugs with us and he and Jungwoo were, you know, all over each other?”

“Yeah.”

“He looked like it was good, didn’t he?”

“I guess?”

Renjun went quiet after that and Donghyuck fell asleep while waiting for more questions, heat making him tired.

The first time Jungwoo asked Donghyuck to look after Kunhang, who was two cycles of season old now, he almost hyperventilated. As unmated Omegas, he had lived with Jungwoo for a bit, so they had been close then, but somehow the age difference never made them as good of friends. Leaving your puppy with someone was a huge sign of trust.

It was starting to get cold, only a few leaves on the trees left, and the air had started to smell of snow. Donghyuck had been curled up in a cuddle pile with the others and listened to Jeno explaining how Arnica benefitted healing.

So, they added the puppy to the pile, who was excited to be allowed with the older boys. He took after both his parents, Donghyuck thought. He was as open and excitable as Yukhei, but a bit calmer and softer, like Jungwoo. His eyes certainly looked more like his brothers’. Many had said that he took surprisingly much after his grandfather, his Dad, and Donghyuck could see that, too.

Keeping him entertained was easy. Once cuddling had become boring, Donghyuck showed him how to braid leather-ties. He had to hold them and the puppy tried to get the pattern right with the most care in the world. Donghyuck beamed and ruffled his hair when he finished, though it was quite uneven. They tied it up, so he could give it to Jungwoo.

Babysitting part one was a short ordeal. Jungwoo was back soon and gushed over how beautiful the bracelet was, that Kunhang excitedly gave him. Objectively speaking, it was pretty ugly. Maybe not seeing that was part of being a parent, too, Donghyuck wondered.

The next day, the first snow came and Donghyuck found a leather bracelet, done with the same simple stitch, only neater than the puppy had managed to make it, hung up on their tent, the scent of ginger stuck to it. Needless to say, he knotted it around his wrist and didn’t take it off.

It was shortly before the winter solstice when Renjun went into heat and woke Donghyuck in the middle of the night.

It was dark and cold and awful and Donghyuck’s wolf nose twitched at the slightly odd smell in the tent. Renjun was in human form, next to him, which seemed like a bad choice given the overall situation.

“Hyuck, I… I…” he shuddered, maybe from the cold, Donghyuck thought, before Renjun whined softly, clenching his eyes shut and he realised what his friend was trying to say.

Donghyuck shifted to human form, too, the cold air mercilessly creeping over his skin the second his thick winter fur was gone.

“You got wet?” Donghyuck whispered. Just how an Alpha would eventually pop their first knot, an Omega would get wet during their heat once their body had matured enough.

Renjun nodded, looking distressed, “Isn’t it too early? It’s too early!” he curled up a bit more, another shiver rippling through him.

“No, it’s a little early, but not very much so. Maybe it’s an apology from nature, for making your presentation late?”

Renjun whined softly.

“It feels weird.”

“Do you want me to go? So you can… take care of it?”

“No! No, don’t go, don’t leave me alone, I’ll just ignore it.”

“It might feel good, you know?”

Renjun’s eyes were fearful and he bit his lip.

“Do you want me to?” Donghyuck softly offered.

His Dad had told him that it was normal for Omega friends to help each other. Heat was always a weird time, anyway, and this sounded like it would make sense.

Renjun nodded and Donghyuck slipped under his furs, trying to keep warm as he found the wetness and watched in slight amazement as Renjun fell apart under his fingers.

“You smell fucking intense,” Jaemin glared at Donghyuck, who rolled his eyes and pulled the fox coat tighter.

“Thank you, you should take a bath soon, too,” He chirped back before putting more porridge into the bowl for Renjun. He had still been passed out when Donghyuck had woken up, the light brown wolf curled into a small ball. Heat was tiring and coming was, too, probably even more when you suddenly figured out an entirely new way to do it.

“No, not like that…” Jaemin’s eyes were dark. A small feeling of discomfort crept up Donghyuck’s spine and he glanced over to where Doyoung and Jaehyun were taking care of the fire by adding more logs in a pattern. Well, there was no reason to worry Jaemin might do anything dumb, then. He remembered he’d still have to find Sicheng and tell him about Renjun since he had asked him to.

“Keep your Alpha in check, Nana, no one likes territorial bullshit and you know Renjun can still rip your throat out, even in heat.”

“Right,” Jaemin finally backed away and Donghyuck went his merry way.

It didn’t go unnoticed how much more effort Jaemin and Jeno put into their courting after that heat. The prey became bigger and their manners to make sure Renjun was short of nothing bordered on annoying.

“You know they think you’ll choose one of them,” Donghyuck explained when Renjun vented about how dumb Alphas were and that he was going to change his mind, have his Baba guard him for the rest of eternity, and not get mated.

“Why the fuck? Are they dumb?”

“Well, yes.”

“Of course I’m not going to choose. Don’t they court each other?”

“They haven’t for some time in an effort to focus on you.”

“They should be. I’m not going to leave one of them to die forever alone. How… no, I’m not even going to ask myself, the answer will be depressing.”

“But you can’t go on a chase with two Alphas, I think.”

“My Baba made it work, so watch me!”

So, Renjun announced to the very eager Jaemin and Jeno that they’d better start making an effort for each other again.

That was met with confusion and Donghyuck crunched down on his snack, watching on the edge of his seat.

He then went on about how he was going to choose both of them if they stopped being annoying airheads, but he’d go on the first chase with whoever was ready first.

That was met with Jaemin grabbing Jeno to kiss him on both cheeks and Jeno almost passing out while Renjun made his dramatic leave, Jaemin yelling confessions of love after him.

Donghyuck had felt well-entertained as did his knitting mentee, who had been dragged along to watch Alphas being dumb.

“Like, I don’t get it. Injun has three dads, too, so it’d just make sense to be with both of them, right?” Chenle shook his head over the knitting project in his hands, “My brother’s so dumb. I mean, like, I don’t want to get mated anyway because there’d only be Jisung and I don’t wanna kiss Jisung, ew, but if the person I wanted to court would have someone else they also liked and I liked that person as well, it’d be fine. He’s so dramatic,” The younger’s words rang _awfully_ familiar with Donghyuck in some parts and he kind of subscribed to the rest.

“Jeno being dramatic seems pretty untypical,” he chuckled “But I think it was instincts. Because they were also courting each other until they started getting so hyper-focused on Injunie.”

“Instincts are dumb, too. I’m glad I don’t have them yet, it seems like a real annoyance. I wished I wouldn’t ever present, it’s so stressful.”

“But you get pretty eyes out of it. Careful, you’re almost slipping a stitch.”

“Oh, thanks. Yeah, I guess the eyes are sort of nice. But that’s it. My Baba said I’d change my mind when I got older, but I’m pretty sure I won’t.”

Donghyuck smiled into his wool as Chenle re-told what sounded very similar to his own words not very long ago.

“You know, you could be looking for a mate in another pack.”

“In the mountain packs? Yeah sure, I don’t think so.”

“There’s a pack further downstream, too. They’ve never challenged us, so maybe they’re nice.”

Chenle wrinkled his nose, “Yeah, maybe. Jisung and I said we’d just stay alone together, though.”

Cute.

Once the snow had melted, Donghyuck and Mark started meeting up behind the supply hut again. It was still quite chilly, but Donghyuck used that as an excuse to sit between Mark’s thighs and press his back against the firm chest.

“And when you draw up from the northern star and then to the side, you get the small bear,” Mark’s voice was soft in his ear as Donghyuck tried to follow which stars the Alpha was connecting. “Johnny explained it to us because that way you can always find home.”

“It doesn’t look like a bear at all. Who came up with that? Appa? He always has such weird ideas.”

“He said it was our ancestors, who wanted to make sure there’s always enough to eat, so they even put it on the sky.”

“I don’t even know where to begin to explain that’s not going to work,” Donghyuck sighed.

“You’re too rational,” Mark laughed and ruffled his hair.

“You’re too lost in fantasy sometimes,” Donghyuck fired back and leaned heavier on the Alpha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	11. Chapter 11 – The Eighteenth Spring and The Nineteenth Summer

With spring coming into full bloom, Donghyuck and his friends were added to the adults of the pack despite only Renjun officially being one yet.

It felt… weird. On one hand, Donghyuck was excited to focus on his favourite tasks only, on the other, he felt like he’d miss all the lessons he kind of hated right now just because they were part of his life and then they’d no longer be?

It was weird. Growing up was weird.

Naturally, Donghyuck had joined the Camp Team, who were in charge of all the things he enjoyed. Jeno chose the same, but he also helped Doyoung a lot. The art of healing typically stayed in the family, it seemed like the passion to help others was inherited.

Not like Donghyuck didn’t want to help others, but not to the point of being ready to sew people back shut.

Jaemin and Renjun had joined the ranks of the hunters, which was also not a surprise.

With spring came spring feelings, as Taeyong had called it while watching Jeno and Jaemin pull up all stacks to trump each other in any given activity.

It wasn’t even over Renjun’s attention anymore, they already had that. However many times Donghyuck stayed out with Mark, exchanging small kisses over their deepest thoughts behind the supply hut, Renjun came back late just as often, smelling faintly of one or both of them. It was simply to give in to their instincts to dominate each other.

But after Renjun’s first spring heat, during which Donghyuck had made sure to always have someone by his side when he left the other Omega (because they both stared at him like he was a fresh steak) they were eager to finally get their first true ruts, so when he went into heat next they’d be allowed the Chase.

Only, there was no way to hasten how your body matured, Donghyuck knew because he secretly was a bit eager for his to do the same.

“Hyuck, your elbow,” Renjun muttered. He had turned to his side because his tummy was starting to get too hot, but that was where Renjun laid, now the pillow for his arm, “Move it away, it pokes my gut.”

“Can’t,” Donghyuck slurred, not bothering to even open his eyes. Renjun shoved his limb away and he let him, not wanting to muster the strength it’d take to resist. There was loud splashing from the lake and another bark ripped through the clearing, followed by more splashing.

“Yah! If I get wet, you’ll both regret it!” Renjun suddenly yelled and Donghyuck startled badly from the sudden outburst, “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“You’re not sorry at all.”

“Maybe so.”

“It’s getting too warm, anyway,” Donghyuck sat up and eyed the lake, where Jaemin’s light brown and Jeno’s almost black wolf were tumbling over each other, the water splashing far onto the shore, “Which one do you think will be first?” he asked Renjun, who was trying to get comfortable again, but seemed to fail.

“Jeno. He’s a spring puppy, Jaemin was born after the summer solstice.”

“True. But Jaemin presented earlier.”

“I presented last and here we are.”

“Also true. I still think Jaemin will be first,” Donghyuck supplied with a smirk. Call it a gut feeling because it was, but he just had a hunch. He looked at his arms and nodded in appreciation of the beautiful bronze hue they had gotten.

“I actually think it’s getting too warm, too,” Renjun seemed to have given up finding comfort in the grass and sat up, ruffling his hair to rid it of the dirt from the ground.

“Hey, do you want to go back? Lunch will be done soon,” Mark called as if he had read their collective minds. Donghyuck looked over and saw the Alpha strolling over, their clothing over his arm.

“And those two?” Renjun gestured towards the lake.

“I don’t know, just leave them to it? They always ignore me these days,” Mark shrugged as Donghyuck got off the ground and stepped into his pants.

“They might get hungry and not notice, though,” Renjun muttered before stepped closer to the lake, putting his hands around his mouth. “Lunch! Get out!”

He was a bit rough with his love, but Donghyuck knew Renjun truly cared about both of them. It was sweet whenever he did show that.

Jeno was first to cease his wild chasing around the lake and trotted ashore, where he furiously shook the water from his fur.

“What’s for lunch? Did you hear?” Donghyuck asked while slipping his hand into Mark’s, who laced their fingers together easily.

“No, but Kun’s on duty, so I’m guessing something spicy.”

“Sounds good,” Donghyuck smiled.

He wasn’t sure how he had imagined adult-life to be.

He still got kind of nostalgic watching Chenle and Jisung do their homework and he even _voluntarily_ joined fighting lessons when it was someone more forgiving teaching because he realised he was still the weakest fighter of the pack.

At the same time, he had more freedom. More responsibility, too, because he now had to realise what had to be done and where, but he could decide how and when to do it. His long lunch breaks were definitely amazing and he enjoyed them to the fullest.

Especially since he usually timed them so Mark’s were simultaneous.

Being with others had been important to Donghyuck his entire life, but the longer the courting, the more meetings behind the supply hut, the more he was drawn to Mark.

It was just so natural to be with him, he felt like an extension of his body, at this point.

Despite that, it felt like they were just waiting right now.

They felt so close, but they were not yet mated.

To Donghyuck and his pack, that step was an important one. It would tie them together for all eternity. Of course, you had to carefully consider before deciding to take it, but they had been thinking about it for so long now.

Staying patient was difficult and boring.

Even more so when Renjun ended up being right only a few nights later when Jeno went into rut, much to Jaemin’s regret.

Then again, at least Jaemin had some time left before he had to go and ask three adults for their only son’s hand in a mating bond.

Donghyuck sure didn’t want to change places with Jeno, but it seemed to go over well.

It felt like time had flashed past when Donghyuck found himself alone in his hut after Renjun and Jeno had been sent off earlier in the day.

It had been so many cycles ago that Donghyuck had been in here alone for the first time, yet it felt like it had been yesterday.

Again, Donghyuck’s heart was torn. He was eager to get where Renjun and Jeno were now, he couldn’t wait to finally go on his own Chase, but… he kind of felt like time was rushing by and while he loved what was, he looked back with so much fondness and wished to relive all these precious memories.

Donghyuck wasn’t the only person feeling a bit alone and overwhelmed by life in general.

Jaemin found him, not even a whole day later, while he was working on clothing, “I’m bored.”

“And that’s my problem how?” Donghyuck preferred making new clothes over mending them, but he understood it was a waste to throw out a shirt just because of a tiny tear. So, here he was, mending.

“I’m so bored and lonely! I need cuddles, but Mark doesn’t want to.”

“That sounds sad. You came to the right place, though, but try not to disturb my work, I want to get this done before sun-down?”

Jaemin didn’t need another invitation and was wrapped around Donghyuck like a snake in seconds. Honestly, this made his own day better as well.

“It’s so mean, why are they taking so long? I miss them,” He had expected quiet to work, but Jaemin kept whining. Which was fine, he could sew and talk, no problem. The shirt was done and he had another ten pairs of trousers to go. Donghyuck bit off the blue threat and changed it for a darker shade.

“In case you didn’t notice, they’ve only been gone for a day. Heats take about three if you haven’t realised the first 1,000 times someone got one.”

“But three days is too long.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes and pushed the thread through the needle ear before grabbing the first pair of tiny toddler-trousers. 50% of the to-fix things were from Kunhang, which meant less fabric but more damage.

It was fine. Donghyuck loved sewing and stitching, which was why he had asked for this task to become his.

“If I remember correctly, the two will move in together, without you. So you can already get used to it and stop behaving more childishly than Jisung.”

Honestly speaking, Donghyuck would have probably fainted if he was in Jaemin’s situation and had heard of this arrangement. It was quite outrageous even though it just followed customs.

“I know,” Jaemin wailed “It’s so unfair! Why are there traditions like that? I don’t like it!”

Donghyuck maybe accidentally poked the needle into Jaemin’s arm, making the Alpha shriek in overdramatic fashion.

“Sorry, clumsy me. Yeah, it does sound sucky, wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now.”

“Urgh. I really wished _I_ had been first, but I also feel happy for Jeno. Is that weird? It feels weird.”

“Honestly, Nana, if you like Jeno as much as I think you do, and the fact that Mark was sleeping outside our tent for three days during that rut is quite telling, then no, it’s not weird.”

“Hey, that was supposed to be a secret.”

“Seriously? Try a bit harder next time, then. It’s not like that’s wrong. Renjun and I do that, too.”

“What?” Jaemin was off Donghyuck in the blink of an eye, looking completely scandalised.

“Oh shut it, do you think it was fun for him to go through three heats alone, during which his body told him to get it?”

“No, but…” Jaemin blushed, which was a rare sight, “How is that? How is he? He’s probably really hot, right?”

“I will not speak of this, we did that as an act of silent understanding. And thinking of Injunie as hot makes me want to throw up.”

“Fine, I’ll find out soon, anyway.”

When Jeno and Renjun returned, hair still damp from a recent bath, with a healing bite on Renjun’s neck, after three days, Jaemin flew around their necks, almost taking them down, loudly complaining about loneliness.

Donghyuck felt that odd feeling… of being both happy for them and wanting what they had… it was like Jaemin had described it.

So, he went to find Mark and complain about Jaemin.

The ginger scent would make him forget about the unpleasant feeling, for sure. Mark always made everything feel better.

One of Donghyuck’s greatest joys that came with his newly acquired position of the tailor of the pack was: teaching the puppies.

He had never expected anyone to give him this sort of authority over Jisung, but here they were. Maybe his Appa hadn’t thought about it.

“No, look at how uneven the length of your stitches is. This won’t do,” Donghyuck looked up from the slightly crooked seam. Admittedly, it was a perfectly fine seam for a 14-seasonal-cycles-old, but Donghyuck held everyone to his own standard and since no one met that, he got to complain.

It was great.

“Come one!” Jisung whined and wiggled the piece of pants around as if that’d straighten the seam, “I tried, okay?”

“Yeah. Tried, unfortunately, is the correct word. Success didn’t follow. I’ll show you once more, so the other side can turn out better, alright?”

Despite teasing, Donghyuck didn’t want to just torture his mentees. He did want them to become better. Usually, sewing was something everyone was responsible for, at least when it came to basics. Donghyuck’s job was helping out where they couldn’t get everything done themselves because they did other tasks he benefited from, and he also spent a majority of his time making fabrics so anyone could sew something, in the first place.

In a pack, they had to work together and share the work, so everyone was taken care of.

“Mine looks better, right?” Chenle grinned and held out his even and beautiful hem.

Jisung kicked him and a moment later, they were in each other’s hair and the evenly and the unevenly hemmed clothes fell on the floor.

Wonderful.

As with every cycle, the summer sun was starting to get her strongest and the days were too hot to spend anywhere but in the shade of the forest or the cooling water of the river.

Donghyuck still didn’t like exhausting himself, but a game in the water could even lure him into moving his body more than _strictly_ necessary.

Yukhei had made a ball from the stomachs of several deer and the thing seemed to be made quite well as it held the air while they threw it between the two teams of three each. It was fun, carefree, easy, weather-appropriate fun.

At first, it had been all against all, but those with taller height and stronger muscle were too much at an advantage, so now it was Mark, Yukhei, and Donghyuck against Jeno, Renjun, and Jaemin, which made the teams somewhat even.

Jungwoo and Kunhang occasionally watched from the shallow waters, where the Omega was trying to make the little boy do simple swimming moves that appeared to be too hard for him to understand yet. At least he looked adorable puffing and huffing and splashing everywhere while he kept stubbornly trying but sinking with Jungwoo always immediately pulling him back up.

Donghyuck remembered faintly when he had first pushed himself away from his Appa successfully and had been so surprised he had realised after five strokes and immediately forgotten to keep going.

“Watch out!” Jaemin yelled. Renjun darted out of the water and smashed the ball that had seemed to fly far over his head, sending it back to Donghyuck’s team, where Mark easily plucked it from the air, tossing it to Donghyuck, who aimed for Jeno.

No one had kept count, but Donghyuck started to feel warm, even in the water. Maybe it was time for a break? The sun was getting close to her highest point and he felt like his brain was getting fried or something.

His aiming and throwing were still on point, though, he missed Jeno big time, earning his team a point. Jeno groaned and under the taunting from Renjun and Jaemin swam to retrieve the ball before it could get lost.

“Hey Hyuckie, wanna change positions?” Mark came pushing through the waist-high water and put his hand on his arm gently.

Nothing too out of the ordinary, right? But it was like a spark ran through his body from the touch.

Donghyuck’s senses suddenly were attuned solely to the Alpha, on his spicy ginger scent, that normally never failed to make him feel calm but now was suddenly sending his body into over-drive.

He felt his blood rush south and wetness much different from water where the river wasn’t even touching between his legs.

With a whimper of shame and need, Donghyuck felt his legs give out and the water splashed around him as he fell to his knees. Heat, his head supplied through the fog that was Mark, Mark, Mark. He was in heat! It was due around now! But normally, it’d take a few hours between starting to get warm and starting to want to rip down the camp to curl up against Mark.

Right now, though, Donghyuck didn’t want to curl up against Mark and maybe get a small kiss like the ones they exchanged under the stars. Right now, he felt himself clench around nothing, wishing for Mark to take him.

Right here, right now.

There was someone that touched his shoulder, grabbed him under his arms, but it wasn’t Mark. An outrage! Then again, did he want it to be him with all the consequences?

No.

He recognised Mark’s growl, that echoed over the clearing as he felt himself get dragged backwards. It called for him to stop and return to Mark, where he belonged, and do whatever his brain was currently asking for. Luckily, the small part of his head, that knew that this wasn’t the place or the time to let himself get mounted, outweighed the rest, that wanted to jump Mark and ignore all bystanders.

So he held still and let himself get dragged as the scent of Mark got less intense and his head started to clear more and more the shallower the water got.

He saw Mark, who was being held back by Yukhei and Jeno. He turned his head and realised that it was Renjun, who was pulling him to the shore.

“Hyuckie?” Renjun asked softly and Donghyuck tried to get up from half-floating to walk.

“Yeah?”

“Oh, it talks,” The Omega laughed, “Snapped out of it?”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck felt ashamed and thankful for the water that had covered him up until now, so none of the others had seen him in this state.

He brought his feet under himself successfully and Renjun helped him stand on wobbly legs. Jungwoo stepped up and wrapped Donghyuck up in a big sheet and he felt endlessly relieved for the cover-up.

“Come on, let’s get you away from here and to the camp before Mark manages to break free. He seems to be a little out of it, okay?” Jungwoo gently suggested and Donghyuck looked back to where Mark was still growling and splashing. Jaemin seemed to have fled the scene entirely and Donghyuck guessed it smelt quite badly of Omega pheromones that’d impress a young, unmated Alpha – even one courting another Omega.

“That’s because Alphas only have three brain cells each,” Donghyuck said, but he felt his body starting to tremble and more of the slick wetness was starting to trail down his leg and he really wanted to get home.

“True.”

His Dad checked on him, which was thoroughly embarrassing because Donghyuck had been doing nothing but seeking relief whenever he was awake. The older Omega didn’t comment on Donghyuck’s flushed state and the messy nest. Instead, he brought water and a blanket that looked like a fishing net and strongly smelt of spicy ginger.

Once, Renjun slipped into the tent at night and Donghyuck clung to him as he pushed his fingers into him at an angle he couldn’t reach himself, the high he got from it allowing him the deepest and best sleep during the whole three days of longing for Mark.

When it finally ended, Donghyuck took a long bath, simply soaking and hoping to wash away all the dirt from all the fluids that had been involved in this particular heat. He didn’t want to go through something like that. Ever. Again.

Eventually, his Dad found him and massaged his hair for him, ridding it off grease and sweat, and Donghyuck happily dozed off as they laid in the sun to dry until it got low and his Appa came to look for them.

When his Dad ruffled his hair and his Appa squeezed him in a hug before pressing annoyingly wet kisses to his cheeks, that feeling of something being inevitably over sneaked up on Donghyuck again.

Well, this time, for sure, he could say it was childhood, that was ending.

His childhood had been wonderful, precious, and he’d never forget it.

But he didn’t want to mourn it. It was still part of him!

The future held more for him, more wonderful, precious, and unforgettable moments of endless happiness and joy, he was sure of it.

Mark was sitting in front of his tent when he returned, curled up into a heap of misery, head downturned until he picked up his scent and looked up, eyes sad.

“What’s wrong with you? Did you fail to catch anything on the hunt, or what put you in such a bad mood?” Donghyuck asked curiously, slowing down before plopping on the ground next to the Alpha, close enough that their clothed thighs were touching. The ground was dry and warm from the sun and he’d have to later get rid of the dust on his clothes, but he didn’t care right now.

Not when Mark looked like he needed to talk.

“I – uh – I’m so sorry.”

“Um, okay?” Donghyuck raised his eyebrows, “What for? Did you make a hole in my favourite shirt during laundry?”

“Laundry? No! No, I didn’t.”

“Sounds pretty guilty to me…”

“No, I didn’t even have laundry duty! Hyuckie, I’m sorry, because of what happened in the river.”

“What happened?” Donghyuck clearly remembered nothing happening. Thank the moon. His brother had been there. He’d never have lived that down. He got hives just imagining it.

“I… I touched you and you just collapsed and it was my fault!” Mark pressed out.

“Hold up, Mark, we touch all the time, you couldn’t have known! I certainly didn’t or I could have stopped you. None of that is anyone’s fault, really. Heat would have gotten me one way or another.”

“But I – urgh, I almost lost my mind, honestly, I felt so bad, if Yukhei hadn’t ripped me back, I… that would have been unforgivable.”

“It would have been mildly traumatising for everyone around, but not unforgivable, Markie. Don’t worry your head too much. If you think I don’t want you to knot me just as bad as you want to do it, you’re pretty wrong.”

Mark stared at him and Donghyuck watched in fascination as the Alpha’s face turned a deeper and deeper shade of red.

“What?” he wheezed eventually, voice as high as Chenle’s.

“You heard me,” Donghyuck felt a bit embarrassed about the whole deal now, too. “You know you still have to ask my fathers for permission, right?”

Mark nodded slowly, face still beet red, “I will, I – uh – yeah, if you want.”

Donghyuck slapped his hand over his eyes. “Yes, I do, do I have to write you a message?”

“Just making sure,” Mark grinned and took his hand, lacing their fingers together, “I started making leathers for a tent, by the way.”

“Please tell me you didn’t attempt to sew them.”

“Hey, my sewing isn’t so bad.”

“Not as bad as your cooking, no. But still bad enough that it’d probably rain through the roof. That’s not romantic.”

Mark flicked his arm and Donghyuck pretended to be deeply hurt until Mark kissed it better.

The next evening by the campfire, Jaemin was moping. Renjun and Jeno had tried to cheer him up, but when he had snapped at Jeno, they had left him to it.

Donghyuck guessed he felt abandoned, but he also didn’t want to get snapped at, so he just watched as Kunhang waddled over to his uncle and offered him a piece of rabbit with his chubby hands. Jaemin’s frown turned into a smile. He carefully took it from the puppy and thanked him endlessly, cuddling him and smacking kisses onto his cheeks. Guess they should just leave all their communication problems to the puppy in the future.

Kunhang went back to his father and Jungwoo gave him another piece. Then he waddled off to bring it to Donghyuck, who felt just as excited over being remembered by the puppy.

Children… were sort of cute. He could see the appeal… a little.

With Donghyuck buried in work and preparations, time seemed to fly past. He finished putting together the leathers with Taeyong’s help. Mark got the approval from his parents and even their outspoken trust and best wishes for the future. His Appa helped them make the poles to hold the tent up. Normal chores had to be done on the side, too.

He hardly had time for some good mental breakdowns over how stressful it was.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when his eager preparations for mated-grown-up-official-stuff were interrupted by not his heat, that wasn’t due for another half a moon, but Jaemin’s rut.

At least that should distract Jaemin from his bad mood. Jeno moved out of the tent he shared with Renjun and the lonely Omega sneaked back into Donghyuck’s tent, while Mark took the ground outside once more.

“I feel sorry for him. He could sleep in our tent, Jeno offered.”

“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to sleep on the furs that you do the nasty on,” Donghyuck muttered. He certainly wouldn’t want that.

“We don’t do that on them, the stains are awful to wash out, you know how badly this stuff sticks,” Renjun sighed.

“I don’t think I wanted to know that.”

“You asked.”

“I really didn’t.”

“Whatever, now you know what not to do with Mark.”

“Thanks, I guess?” Donghyuck rolled over, trying to find sleep. But a question wouldn’t leave his mind, “Say, Injunie?”

“Hrm?”

“Does… it feel good? You know? Knotting?”

“Oh yes, no false advertisement. If you prepare, it doesn’t hurt, it just feels really, really good. It also feels good if you don’t, but not as. So. Prepare if you can, believe me when I say you will be impatient once you’re found.”

Donghyuck saved that information to the back of his head, for later use. Sex, per se, didn’t seem too complicated, but this particular part was a little more intimidating.

And he sure as fuck didn’t want to ask his Dad.

Jeno’s first appearance as the pack’s healer came sooner than expected when Jisung fell from the rocks at the river and cut open his leg on them. It wasn’t anything too worrisome. They all had gotten cuts and gashes over childhood. You had to take care of it and avoid it getting infected, but you didn’t have to write your last will.

Donghyuck was the one to hold Jisung’s hand because his Appa and Dad were on border control and this wasn’t big enough to call them back, Yuta had insisted. Objectively speaking, it really wasn’t.

Jisung begged to differ, but he was stuck with the elder’s decision and clung to Donghyuck’s hand. Admittedly, he felt a little faint from the blood, too, but didn’t want to show weakness. If he just turned his head away, it wasn’t there. Problem solved! Okay, one quick glance…

Doyoung stood to the side as Jeno worked with steady hands, seemingly knowing exactly what he was doing as he placed fine stitches that put Donghyuck’s embroidery to shame over the length of the cut, pulling it shut.

Donghyuck knew nothing took your mind off pain better than dumb questions, so that was the role he took while Jisung held still as good as he could.

“Did you finish your bow before you left to play?”

“Why do you care about my bow, it’s a passion project!”

“Well, I care about your passions as your beloved brother, obviously.”

“No, it’s not, ow, perfect yet. I need better feathers for my arrows, too, the ones I have are too stiff or too soft.”

“So?”

“I’ll keep looking. Once I have healed from this.”

“I don’t think you’ll be bedridden. It’s just a cut.”

“But it hurts!”

“Okay, speaking of hurt, what about my big needle? Did you find it?”

Jisung squeezed his mouth into a thin line.

“Did you break it?” Donghyuck tried very hard to keep his voice even, but making needles was difficult and annoying and once you managed to make one you liked working with, you wanted to keep it forever!

In the end, Doyoung patted Jeno’s shoulder with a proud smile and Jisung got rewarded with some honeycomb from Taeyong. Everyone, other than Donghyuck with his now-broken needle, seemed happy, even his Appa when he returned from his patrolling and found his youngest with a long bandage, which had sent him into a spontaneous moment of over-father mode. He was pacified quickly when Jisung assured him that Jeno had done a really good job.

He even pitied Donghyuck for his broken needle, which was very much appreciated.

And then, without announcement, Donghyuck woke up feeling warm, too warm, and restless, immediately starting to gather his furs and blankets and pushing them to a nest one morning. Seriously, the audacity of them to lie around so uselessly, this had to be comfy and nice and warm for him to be bedded appropriately!

He stopped himself once he realised what he was doing and a wave of both nervousness and excitement rushed through him.

His heat hadn’t hit fully yet, but it probably would before noon, so he tore himself away from his beloved unfinished nest and staggered from his tent to that of his parents.

An Omega was sent off by the pack’s other Omegas, that was what the tradition called for. The Alphas kept the future mate entertained and put at the camp until the sun had at least moved a sixth over the sky, depending on the season, that was also what the tradition, and common sense, called for.

Donghyuck had to swallow down tears as he hugged his Dad, then all the other adults, then Jungwoo and finally Renjun, who ruffled his already messy hair. His skin was buzzing now, almost as hot as he’d get.

It wasn’t like he’d never return. It was just a happy chapter closing to open a new one.

The thought of getting to spend his heat with Mark, and then having Mark by his side all his life and beyond… that was far more promising than the melancholy of no longer being a puppy – when really, he hadn’t been a puppy for a long time.

Donghyuck turned around and his skin melted into fur, four paws hit the ground and he fell into running immediately, pushing himself ahead into the vast forests that belonged to their territory and that would be kept free for them, the hunters using the other grounds for the three days during which they’d be hiding in the darkness of the vegetation here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just fyi, the final chapter is an epilogue, so technically there is only one left 
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)


	12. Chapter 12 – The Nineteenth Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a double-update bc the Epilogue is very short ^^

Donghyuck was glad that he wouldn’t have to find his way back because he had completely forgotten to pay attention and his tracking was… still bad.

With his head only set on finding a good place to nest, he really couldn’t be bothered as his feet carried him deeper and deeper into the woods where the sun got blocked by the thick leaves and branches of trees much older than even his ancestors.

It felt homely and safe here, he thought and slowed down to inspect the ground more carefully. He had chosen well, Donghyuck decided as his paws sunk into thick moss. He dropped the bottle of water he had been carrying and started pushing branches away with his snout, freeing more ground from anything that would poke into soft human skin.

Eventually, he felt himself get wet, and his fur stuck annoyingly to his backside, so he shifted and continued his work in human form. As long as the nest wasn’t perfect, his other desires and instincts weren’t important and pushed to the back of his head in favour of building a taller wall and ripping more soft moss from outside to add in his bed.

This had to be perfect.

Nothing less would suffice!

By the time he was done and ready to get to it, the air still smelt of the forest, not of spicy ginger. This was inconvenient. Hello? Mark? Donghyuck started getting restless, rolling around without finding comfort.

His arousal was not really there yet, with no Alpha to trigger it, but it simmered under his skin. Like his body was just letting him know that he was ready to get pregnant. Of course, Donghyuck wasn’t actually going to because he had chewed down that awful mix of ginger, carrot seeds, and Embelia that Doyoung had made. His body seemed unaware of that.

The thought of ginger made his mind wander to another source of it, much more pleasant than the medical potion. Donghyuck looked at the trees, behind which the sun was hidden, but it was difficult to tell how far she had travelled while he had been running and building.

He felt like whining but with no one to listen and pay him attention, that got boring quickly.

He rolled over again, body twitching at the thought of Mark getting here soon. He felt slick run over his skin and shuddered.

Right.

Renjun’s recommendation came back to his head and Donghyuck found himself very happy over the idea of taking the edge off while he kept waiting.

Slowly, he let his fingers trail down his body until he reached between his legs, where he wanted. He still felt a little clumsy with this, much less practised at how to best go about it than he was with regular jacking off. After his first heat, he had only tried once. Mark and he had been kissing in the dark and he had been flushed and restless after that, once he had been back in his tent and alone.

Outside of heat, he had decided, it wasn’t worth the effort because just quickly pumping his hand up and down his dick was so much easier and while it didn’t feel quite as good, it still felt amazing.

But during heat…

It was another story entirely.

Donghyuck easily slipped in two fingers with little resistance and groaned as he tried to press into that place that made him always feel like he was on clouds from being so sensitive. Sure, that wasn’t the real goal here, Donghyuck tried to reason with his heat clouded brain – but he could have some fun while getting something done, right?

It already felt so amazing and he tightened his thighs around his arm, his dick rubbing against it and his stomach as he started pushing in and out, gasping softly.

When would Mark come? He missed him, he wanted him!

He wanted more!

Frustrated by the lack of Mark, he pressed in another finger with a bit more difficulty and started thrusting them carefully, so the slide would get easier. The friction was a relief, small moans coming from his mouth with every drag he did. His thoughts wandered, made him imagine the Alpha he was expecting, and just the thought let him become more turned on and almost desperate.

It didn’t take long for him to come, his body clamping down on his fingers as his dick twitched from his orgasm.

That had been good!

Donghyuck pulled his fingers out, head a bit clearer for the moment. He felt a bit ashamed for how downright pathetically desperate that had been. He was quite happy that Mark hadn’t found him yet to witness that.

He pulled himself up and cleaned the clear fluid from his hands. He already felt more slick collecting, his body gearing up for more. He’d need it, later. Donghyuck’s stomach fluttered again. When Mark would come.

Just how much longer?

Donghyuck took a sip of water and inspected his nest. It had been very nice and soft, so he was happy with that, but where had this stray leaf come from? It had no place here. He wanted it _gone_ so he threw it outside, but it landed right next to the walls because leaves weren’t throw-able.

Whatever.

The longer he waited, the more worked up he got. He pushed the moss around a little, suddenly unhappy with its placement. His skin was burning hot and his dick already fully hardened again.

He needed more but he didn’t feel like doing it himself.

He wanted his Mark! Now!

After a lot of rearranging, more whining with no one listening, and some more thrown leaves, the air suddenly, _finally_, started to smell different.

Spicy, with a layer of ginger.

The thundering of paws became audible and Donghyuck tried to sit up, but his body felt heavy, instincts demanding he go slack and let himself be mounted. As if he wasn’t already flushed and heated, more blood rushed to his face and dick, more slick, warm and slippery, collected between his legs, and Donghyuck was quite sure his brain would never recover from the instinct-override he was experiencing.

He wanted _Mark_! _Right now_!

Still, he stubbornly managed to force himself upright and watched as the grey wolf appeared between trees, dodging them with ease despite the fast pace he was running at, and made his way towards Donghyuck. Mark slowed down and set for a final jump, with which he landed in the nest, knocking Donghyuck backwards into the soft ground.

He groaned as he was pressed down under the weight of Mark, who smelt like heaven. The Alpha licked over his face, once, twice, and Donghyuck felt his head get clouded, leaving only the thought of Mark, Mark, Mark, similar to how it had happened when he had gone into heat last time.

He dug his fingers into the thick pelt and pulled, “Shift!”

But Mark just whimpered, eyes wide, and Donghyuck was ready to slap his Alpha because now was not the time to think he had to hold back! If Donghyuck felt like he had back at the lake, so did Mark, probably, and he was probably also thinking he was being a disgrace by wanting to move on that. Just how he had squeaked and fled when Donghyuck had gotten so worked up from kissing once and had dropped his hand on the front of Mark’s trousers in a silent offer.

“Listen here, I’m in heat and I need you to claim me right this moment. I stretched myself, so you can just go at it, it won’t hurt, but it will hurt if you don’t do something _right now_!” Donghyuck yelled and shook the wolf on top of him a little for emphasis.

That did the job and Mark’s grey fur disappeared into skin, leaving a very flushed Mark with dark eyes, who immediately leaned down and started messily licking over Donghyuck’s lips until he opened them to let the Alpha kiss him. If that counted as a kiss. Which was questionable, but since it felt good…

Donghyuck hardly cared, the scent of Mark and Mark’s body finally on him left him without any capacity in his brain to think, only act. He managed to get his legs around Mark’s hips somehow and pressed the Alpha downwards until he felt their dicks rub together.

Mark groaned into his mouth as Donghyuck let out a small sigh of relief. But it wasn’t enough, he didn’t need anyone rubbing his dick right now, how Mark did with his messy small jerks of his hips.

Donghyuck got fed up by this, so he grabbed Mark’s shoulders and with one push that caught the Alpha off-guard, he had their positions reversed, mouths pulled apart from the movement.

He sat down on Mark’s hips, feeling his body against his ass, and Mark stared up at him with big eyes, not daring to move as Donghyuck reached behind himself and immediately felt the swell of the Alpha’s dick sticking up from between his legs.

The touch triggered another groan from Mark, his eyelids fluttering a little.

“Hyuckie, what…”

“Sh,” Donghyuck was so on edge now he wasn’t ready to explain anything, he could only move on instinct. He gave Mark a few tugs, trying to get a feel for the bigger size and girth. Then he wrapped his fingers around the base and raised himself up and back a little. He found the ideal position, the head of Mark’s cock pressing against his rim. With another deep breath, he slowly let himself sink down.

The stretch was so good, exactly what his body was yearning for, and Donghyuck couldn’t stop himself from whining under his breath as he sunk down further and further until he sat flush on Mark.

It felt a bit odd. Good, but foreign. Donghyuck looked down at Mark, whose eyes were screwed shut, lower lip between his teeth.

“Is this okay?” he managed to press out, not daring to move.

“Yeah,” Mark breathed “Just… do what you want.” His arms were flexed and Donghyuck knew he was holding himself back. His loss then. Donghyuck carefully rocked his hips to see how it’d feel and the movement made Mark push against his walls, give him just a little friction. It felt great. So, he tried more. If he raised himself up a bit, he could drop back down and get more friction. He tried that and almost cried when he managed to get the angle just right to have the hard dick pass over that perfect spot in him.

Mark had opened one eye and was watching him with undisguised lust now. It was unbelievably sexy. Donghyuck felt himself get riled up as he tried to get the perfect angle, again and again. The friction felt almost as good, but not quite enough. His orgasm slowly built up, but seemed too far away for him to really come.

His thighs started to burn from his constant up and down movement and Donghyuck started getting impatient and desperate.

“Mark, don’t be so useless!” he groaned as he tried but failed to thrust down at the ideal angle.

And, finally, the Alpha did something. Just a small movement from his hips was enough to allow Donghyuck to get him just right and he moaned loudly, eager for more, as he pulled himself up once again and thrust his hips down on the Alpha’s length, getting another push into his good spot.

Oh, this, this was so good! Donghyuck realised he tried to express that, but he couldn’t properly talk, so, whatever. It was _so_ good.

Donghyuck finally felt the tightening of his gut and he clenched down on Mark with a small whimper, his body trembling before he came, clenching down rhythmically to work himself through it.

Mark rocked his hips ever so shallowly, small groans coming from his lips as he tried to keep still but couldn’t with the slick warmth around him, his own high so close.

Donghyuck was still trying to ride out his orgasm with small circles of his hips when he felt Mark swell inside him. His first instinct was to clench down harder, so he did, making Mark gasp and jerk his hips upwards hard, burying himself as deep as possible. Donghyuck hissed from the sudden move and couldn’t hold himself upright anymore, hands finding purchase on Mark’s chest while he felt the stretch grow thicker and thicker, Mark continuously grinding into him.

If he hadn’t been in heat, he’d already be oversensitive and hating touch, but as he was, his dick hadn’t even softened. His body easily took the knot, pleasure cutting through him with every move that massaged that sweet spot.

No, it didn’t hurt. It felt absolutely mind-blowingly _good_!

It only took a few more moments for Mark to come and Donghyuck felt the warmth of him filling him in the weirdest way. But he couldn’t dwell on it because Mark pulled him down, suddenly out of his self-enforced stupor.

Donghyuck felt his tongue leap over his neck and shuddered, clenching down on the knot again, which made him moan in pleasure as it moved against everywhere it felt good. A moment later, Mark bit down, without warning but not unexpectedly.

It hurt, like any bite would hurt, but at the same time it made Donghyuck’s head spin and he just gripped Mark’s shoulders harder. It only lasted a second and the Alpha was pulling away, tongue licking over the wound to help it close up. Donghyuck suddenly felt good again, really good and turned on, a back and forth between sensations that left him disoriented. He started moving his hips down as far as it was possible on the knot, chasing the high he had started to build up before Mark’s.

It was so weird overall, it wasn’t even worth a thought how fast he managed to get off with the constant pressure and thickness from the knot inside him helping him finish. Donghyuck came with a high moan, body locking up around Mark.

This finally seemed to be the end, for now, and Donghyuck felt his body go limp and weak, collapsing on top of Mark despite still being locked together.

“Fuck,” he whispered as the full extent of his actions dawned on him. Heat definitely made this easier, his body just moving on instinct.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Mark softly asked.

“A little, the bite.”

“Okay. I’ll not touch it.”

“Hm.”

“Everything else okay?”

“Apart from you being no help at all? How long do you think we’ll be stuck? How long until your rut hits?” Donghyuck asked, feeling sleepy but knowing he wouldn’t be sated for long. The claim should trigger Mark’s rut, so he could keep up with him, but it’d also mean Mark would have needs and Donghyuck wasn’t so self-centred as to ignore that.

“A bit. You could nap?”

“Hm,” Donghyuck let his eyes fall shut, the even movement of Mark’s breathing lulling him into sleep.

It didn’t take long for him to wake back up, dick already hard against Mark’s stomach, his hole clenching down on nothing. Mark had fallen asleep, too, but apparently had pulled out before doing so. New slick was warm on Donghyuck’s backside already and his body burnt up. Oh moon, he couldn’t wait for Mark to finish his beauty sleep, he was mildly sorry, but he needed him!

When he shook Mark awake, he didn’t feel cold in comparison to Donghyuck’s heat-warm body, meaning his rut must be close, or already here.

“Mark? Markie?”

The Alpha ripped his eyes open, jerking up, arms around Donghyuck, who yelped at suddenly being raised into sitting position.

“What?”

“Talk about over-reaction,” Donghyuck weakly teased and just ground his hips down against Mark in a way that the Alpha had to feel his slick entrance rub against his thigh.

It seemed to work. A low growl bubbled in his chest and Donghyuck found himself back on the forest ground in the blink of an eye, staring up at Mark in surprise.

Huh?

Seemed like rut ignited a change in heart.

Donghyuck’s legs were nudged apart so that Mark could kneel between them, and he was all too happy to comply. Mark’s fingers travelled over his body, rubbing over his dusty pink nipples, that perked up under the touch, before going over the soft raise of his tummy and finally reaching his hips. It felt good, right, somehow, to have Mark touch him everywhere, eyes following his hands to stare down at Donghyuck’s body with lust burning hot in them.

Being on the receiving end of so much adoration felt incredible.

But it also turned him on so much more.

“Mark, please.”

Just two words were enough and Mark had his hands where they needed to be, grabbing his ass and spreading him open for himself. He felt what probably was a mix of cum and slick ooze out and Mark stared in fascination for a moment before leaning in and licking over it.

That had been unexpected.

Donghyuck moaned in pleasure, but it got even better when Mark pushed his tongue inside, pressing the muscle into his walls.

Oh moon, this was, he didn’t even know how to describe it, it was hot and wet and Mark wiggled his tongue back and forth, curling it to reach more places, to give him more pressure.

He was going to never recover from this. Ever.

His fingers tangled in the grey hair and tugged until Mark finally stopped and looked up, mouth and chin shiny with slick. This had to be it, the sexiest person Donghyuck would ever lay eyes upon.

“Not good?”

“Yes good. But… I want more!” Donghyuck whined and Mark nodded and crawled over him, so he could cage Donghyuck against the moss under them.

“I’ll give you more, okay?”

Donghyuck nodded furiously and finally – finally – Mark nudged against him, then pushed inside.

It felt even better than the last time, his body already expecting the girth and length, and Donghyuck didn’t waste any time before starting to move his hips up and down as much as he could with his legs wrapped over Mark’s waist.

Thankfully, the Alpha didn’t need further instruction or invitation. He started pulling out and thrusting back in, starting slow but picking the pace up quickly to a faster rhythm than Donghyuck had been able to reach while riding him.

The movements were strong and accentuated, accompanied with a small huff from Mark and a high moan from Donghyuck with every thrust. He struggled to keep up, canting his hips down, but Mark did both their jobs at the same time, with Donghyuck hiking himself up by keeping his legs around his body, and pushed into his prostate with every pass.

Donghyuck was so quickly close to orgasm again, he didn’t even realise he was coming until Mark had already pushed him over the edge with a pointed thrust and Donghyuck’s body trembled in pleasure as his muscles locked down once more, trying to keep a knot that hadn’t built up yet.

It felt beyond amazing, even without one.

Mark didn’t slow down, just fucked him through the high, and Donghyuck’s hands flew up to dig into his shoulders as his vision started to go white on the sides.

He no longer tried moving his hips, just focussed on keeping his legs where they were while the pleasure of another orgasm rolling up almost overwhelmed him.

Thankfully, he felt Mark’s knot starting to fill in before he could force another orgasm out of him and his moves got smaller until he was stuck and only ground into him, breath coming short. He groaned gutturally when he came. Together with the stretch from the knot and the sensation of being filled with cum, Donghyuck managed to come just a moment later, gasping and jerking from the force of two in such short succession.

He had lost at least half his brain cells from orgasming, he was sure of it, but he had no regrets when he maybe should have.

It took them a moment to catch their breath after that. Then, Mark turned them so they were on their sides, Donghyuck pulled against his chest where his pulse was still hammering.

“That was good,” Donghyuck wheezed, still trying to catch his breath. Mark’s hair was damp, sticking to his forehead when he nuzzled into the Omega’s neck. Donghyuck giggled at the nose nudging against his not-bitten scent gland.

“I love you,” Mark whispered into his skin and Donghyuck seemed to feel the words on it like another mark of bonding.

“I love you, too. I’ve loved you for a long time,” He whispered back. Mark hummed and started kissing his neck, which sent goosebumps all over the Omega’s skin.

He had no idea how long his heat took, the trees keeping the day and night sort of unclear and he had other things to focus on than tracking the sun and counting the nights. Like how to avoid being pushed around with Mark thrusting into him from behind, or how to keep his teeth away from his mate’s dick, or how to keep his legs open when Mark ate him out. All very important lessons.

When Mark slipped out of him with a disgusting squelch and Donghyuck didn’t feel like getting the knot right back up his ass, he knew it was over. Mark looked rough, hair sticking all directions and scratch marks all over his back.

Donghyuck gently rubbed over his side, where his skin was scarred. Mark had assured him it didn’t hurt, but it still looked mean.

He himself was probably not in a better state. The bite on his neck faintly stung from time to time and Mark had put so many love bites on him, he seriously considered waiting until the depths of night to return to the camp so no one would see.

“I need to bathe for two days,” Donghyuck announced as he pushed himself into a sitting position with serious trouble. Sore wasn’t even going to begin covering how he felt.

“I think I do, too,” Mark rasped and got up with much less struggle, but still a bit wobbly.

Donghyuck stood with his help and wished he hadn’t when he felt something trickle down his ass and legs.

Mark’s eyes were dark as he stared at it.

“I can’t believe you, are you going to get it up again? Are you still in rut?” Donghyuck asked and looked at Mark’s dick, just to make sure, but it was soft and flaccid now, looking small and like it couldn’t possibly be the reason that Donghyuck could hardly walk.

“Maybe…”

“In that case have fun with your right hand,” Donghyuck pretended to walk away, but his knees buckled and he landed on his butt instead. He had had that coming.

It ended up being long after sundown by the time they arrived at the clearing.

Somehow, as they were greeted by the pack members that were still by the campfire, everything seemed a bit different yet still the same.

It was still home, after all, but he was no longer a puppy.

But that was okay, it was normal. The future was starting now and the future would be wonderful.

“Holy shit, you didn’t even go hunting?” Renjun’s eyes were wide as he poked on the marks that were visible over the collar of Donghyuck’s shirt. Thank the moon that you could half-lie down to sew up rips in toddlers’ clothing. Because nothing else seemed possible today.

“No, that’s why I was so hungry,” It slowly dawned on Donghyuck “Wait, you took breaks for longer than the time it takes the knot to come down?”

“Definitely did and definitely plan to do that again with Jaemin, holy fuck, no wonder you can hardly move.”

“Meh, there are worse things.”

The tent flap was pulled away and Mark came inside, wood meant for carving in his arms.

“Markie, I need food, I’m hungry,” Donghyuck whined, sewing momentarily forgotten.

“What do you want?”

“Dried deer, please.”

Mark came over and put a small kiss to Donghyuck’s lips, Jisung and Chenle, who were struggling with leathers in the back, screeched in disgust, “Of course, just a moment.”

“Thank you, love you!”

“I love you, too.”

Renjun’s face was blank when Donghyuck turned his attention back to his friend.

“I didn’t think it was possible for Mark to get more whipped. Proved me wrong.”


	13. Chapter 13 – Epilogue: Twenty-Ninth Spring

“Appa! Yeri put bristle grass into my furs.”

Donghyuck looked up from where he was trying to figure out which pieces of the questionable knitting work that Xiaojun had handed him with a bright smile were supposed to be which. All looked mainly like lumps and less like clothing, but the puppy combined Jaemin’s angelic looks with Renjun’s smartness and Jeno’s gentleness, so he didn’t have the heart to tell him.

A small girl, only six summers old, came running over the clearing, tears in her eyes and he easily caught her when she threw herself into his arms. He maybe had threatened to kill Mark about a hundred times during labour and had sworn to never let him close to his ass ever again another two-hundred times or so. The Alpha had stood strong as Donghyuck had cursed him and squeezed his hand to mush, but joy over the twins had made him apologise to his mate pretty quickly. Idiotically, he had even forgotten about the pain, only to repeat the whole thing when labour hit again.

Thankfully, Mark was still as whipped as the first day after getting mated.

“Did you get hurt anywhere?” Donghyuck asked, already looking her over for concerning wounds, but she looked fine, just cranky.

“Yes, here,” She held up her arm and showed a tiny scratch.

Donghyuck pressed a kiss to it and sung the song his Appa had sung when he had been little to make things feel better. Soon, she was bouncing away while he was left with the task of finding the younger of the two to scold her.

The birth of not one, but two girls had been a surprise to the pack, but a happy one. His Appa doted on all his grandchildren terribly and Donghyuck was happy he wasn’t left in charge to raise them, or there’d be Jaemin 2.0 but even worse. It was cute to watch him play with them, though. Even his Dad had gotten softer, less strict with him no longer being the one responsible to make them upstanding wolves.

There were many puppies to spoil and dote on for the generation that started to step down from the physically harder tasks slowly as their bodies started to age and they put more time into telling stories and giving the knowledge they had gathered to the newest generation, that would lead the pack once their time on this plane was over.

Donghyuck hoped it’d still be some time until then.

“Jisung, do you have an eye on them?” Donghyuck hollered to his brother, who was closer to where the youngest additions of the pack were playing with wooden bricks, still much too little to run around on their own, not even in control of their own shift yet. The two boys looked more like brothers, rather than cousins, and they thankfully weren’t playing pranks on each other yet.

No doubt that time would come, sooner or later.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back, I’ll have to find Yeri and tell her not to play pranks on her sister.”

There was an unspoken pact between them to never tell the kids what kind of pranks there had been during their own youth, or they’d lose all authority in the blink of an eye. It was stories to share over the campfire burning low when the young and the old members were already sleeping.

Donghyuck stepped onto the path to the viola clearing, which was the border to which the two girls and Xiaojun were allowed to go this cycle of the season. The path was broader than it had been during his own days as a puppy, more people in the pack meant more traffic between the beautiful clearing and the camp.

The blackberries were still guarding the field of strawberries but had grown into a bush so high no little puppy, barely seven seasons old, would be able to step over them anymore. Donghyuck smiled to himself as he walked past them. His nose twitched as he picked up the scent of ginger and a moment later he was wrapped in strong arms and pulled off the ground, twirled around once.

“Mark!” Donghyuck yelped, gripping the hands on his waist to cling on. His mate put him down and Donghyuck turned around with a glare. “You scared me!”

“Sorry, you looked so pretty!”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes.

“It’s the truth!” Mark whined and leaned in for a kiss.

Donghyuck softly moved his lips against the Alpha’s enjoying the moment of quiet before his original task came back to his head.

“Why are you even here? What about hunting?”

“We took down an elk, Kunhang landed an amazing bite and it went down like a tower from which you pulled the lowest brick. I tell you, that puppy is talented, I hope he’ll stick to hunting.”

“Impressive. Well, since you’re free for the day then… how about you go and find your daughter to tell her that bristle grass has nothing to do in her sister’s furs?”

“You mean like it had nothing to do in Renjun’s pillow for telling you the wrong answer to Jaehyun’s quiz?”

“That was very different and you know it,” Donghyuck huffed.

“Of course,” Mark grinned and pulled him closer for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I got weirdly emotional writing that Epilogue. Probably since the AU really grew on me, as I’ve been writing it for so long.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read this, special thanks to all commenters <333  
AND  
My fingers slipped and there might be a spin-off in the works ^^
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)  
Twitter: @155Fox

**Author's Note:**

> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Fox_155)  
Twitter: @155Fox


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